Our Journey Begins Now...

So I went in to see Dr. Thomas on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 2:30pm to discuss how to transition from birth control to the complete opposite. Well lucky me, I was approaching my last week of birth control so his response was, "Stop your birth control this Saturday, start taking Letrozole in Tuesday, come in to see me on the September 10th for an ultrasound to make sure it's working. If it's working you take a shot of Ovidrel then have timed intercourse and hopefully you'll be pregnant by the end of the month."


As if it would just be that easy. He has me completely convinced it will be but there is a small part of me that says "You're broken, it won't be that easy!". The hubby and I have been in good spirits though because we feel we're ready and as prepared as we can be for a baby, now to just have this thing!



We have both been very positive and looking forward to the Tuesday I began my medicine. My doctor prescribed me Letrozole, which is the generic for Femera and is supposed to help my body ovulate since it doesn't do it on it's own. I had no idea this medication existed. I did research for Clomid, I even ordered some online (which I will be returning). I heard terrible things about the side effects of Clomid, and while I know everyone reacts differently to medication, I also know that I usually suffer some side effects terribly, such as the nausea/diarrhea, headaches/migranes, dizzyness, etc. so I was afraid. I was so relieved when he decided to go a different route because I was so afraid. I will document my days on this medicine so I can give someone an insight into what Letrozole/Femera are like. I won't bore you with too many miniscule details such as my complete schedule for the day if nothing happened.

Day 1:

6:30am- Woke up
7:45am- Ate a few mini chocolate donuts on my way in and drank some grape juice :-)
8:30am- Took two, 2.5 mg pills; began work

Side effects today: A little gassy (it could be from the Mexican food from the night before, my approaching menstruation or just the medicine... not sure); a little spacy/time moving faster than I think

Day 2:

6:30am- Woke up
7:15am- Ate a Special K breakfast sandwich and some grape juice
8:30am- Took two, 2.5 mg pills
9:00am- took my prenatal vitamin
9:30am- Took a Notary Public test and felt fine
10:30am- Began work

Side effects: none

Day 3:

7:00am- Woke up
7:15am- Ate a Special K breakfast sandwich and some Gatorade
8:30am- Began work
8:33am- Took two, 2.5mg pills
9:00am- took my prenatal vitamin


Side effects: none

Day 4:

6:30am- Woke up
7:15am- Ate a Special K breakfast sandwich and an Orange Pineapple Apple juice
8:30am- Took two, 2.5mg pills; began work
4:00pm- Talked to my doctor because I was in a panic. (the lady from billing called and told me I needed to pay for the "package deal" for monitored cycle but I didn't think I was on the monitored cycle just yet... I needed clarification before I paid a little over $1000.00 for something I didn't need.)

Side effects: none

Day 5:

8:30am- Woke up; took two, 2.5mg pills
8:45am- Went back to sleep
10:00am- Woke up
12:00pm- Went to Covington's Oktoberfest

Side effects: none


Overall, my experience was pretty great. I had to remember to take the medication at the same time each day but I had no side effects at all unlike the horror stories I have read about Clomid! I'm glad my doctor went this route! I have my follow-up ultrasound on Wednesday to see if the medication is working and if I'm creating good follicles. If I have really good ones, I take my Ovidrel shot on Wednesday, if they are good but still growing, I will take the shot a few days later. So cross fingers and pray for me!

So have any of you had any experiences with Letrozole/Femera and Ovidrel? I'd LOVE to hear your experiences!

Expenses and Other Stuff

Okay ladies, let me get really honest here... Having PCOS is expensive and the testing is outrageous!

I have insurance that covers a decent portion of all of the tests I've had to take and everything but man oh man, I still have to pay out the butt for the stuff that isn't covered! I just got a bill (insurance covered around 70%) and it was for $967.00!!!

So in my last post, I mentioned my doctor wanted me to have an HSG test (Hysterosalpingogram) in days 4-12 of my cycle. I called to schedule the appointment and to
my surprise, insurance wasn't going to cover any of it! This was not something I was warned
about when I had my last appointment so I was not prepared for the price tag or the fact that
they needed most of it when I scheduled the appointment and the rest the day of the
appointment. The test was going to cost $750.00 and I needed $450.00 when scheduling it.
Seeing as how my test was to give my doctor a better picture of my PCOS,I felt it should've
been covered. They lady in the financial/billing department said that they can't bill it for my
PCOS since it is a infertility test. I explained to her the purpose and that I'm not trying for a
kid right now. She recommended a Saline Sono (Sonohysterosalpingogram) instead, so I called my doctor to see if we could do that instead since it could be billed for the purpose that it was serving, to see the extent of my PCOS and how everything looks in there. He said it would be okay to do that test and I scheduled it.

I did not enjoy that test not one bit. I'm sure it was made worse by the fact that I have some sort of an infection or something... It could also have something to do with the fact that I had to have the test done twice since for some reason the device was letting bubbles out... Or the fact that there was my doc, a med student, and two nurses in there with the lights off and a lamp shining onto my hoo-ha... Or a combination of all of the above!

After the shock of the pain that occurred when they inserted the catheter and inflated the balloon, the rest wasn't bad. I did have to wear a pad afterwards because they used a crazy amount of saline to get the test done (twice) so that it didn't look like I peed my pants lol

I did find out that everything is in working order though, all tubes are open, no cysts (which I haven't had any since I've been his patient and am not aware of a history of having any cysts ever), uterus is in a great position and it all looks "normal". Yay for great news!!!!

The hubby also got tested and his little swimmers are what my doctor calls "Super Sperm" because of his results (imagine my husband's reaction when I came home and told him that... you'd swear I came home and told him I was pregnant lol).

So now for the journey on the way to parenthood can begin shortly.

The Start of a Long and Hard Journey!

Well folks, as disgusting as this may be to some of you, I am posting my before pictures and current height/weight and measurements. This is mostly for my own personal record but hopefully it will inspire some of you on your journey as well. (Excuse the mess on the counter, this is our spare bathroom and my mom has been staying with us while going through a nasty divorce b/c her husband shut the power off )

As many of you know, having PCOS means you are (most likely, not always), overweight AND it is stubborn weight that won't come off because your hormones are all kinds of wacky. Well I fall into that category. Very quickly I might add! I've never been a stick but I've usually been in pretty decent, athletic shape. I was never considered "obese" and was barely considered overweight (by 5 pounds my doc would always say) but just a year and a half prior to finding out I had PCOS, I gained 25 pounds... That's what sparked the thought that I might have it and low and behold, I do. I know firsthand that it's not easy, I have been trying since the first 10 pounds creeped up on me. I would go to my local Planet Fitness 5 days a week for hours at a time, I'd walk to work everyday (as long as it wasn't snowing or raining because I had to cross two major roadways) instead of drive since it was close, I watched what I ate and I did personal training sessions once per week. Never lost a pound. Instead I gained. UGH! It is so frustrating. Trust me, I know how you feel.

I have begun, as of last night after these photos, measurement and such were taken, the Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 Video. Let me tell you what, it kicked my butt HARD last night. I don't think I've sweated that much in my life (it could also be due to the weather and the fact I don't like to turn my A/C on because it costs a ridiculous amount each month to have it on). I worked it out hard and had to pause in between the circuits for a water break. I won't recommend it yet because I have no results to say it works BUT I will say that if I am going to be working out as hard as I did yesterday, then it should work by the end of the 30 days. I am going into this with realistic expectations though. I do not by any means expect to have a body like Jillian Michaels by day 30 (wouldn't that be nice?!?) but I would like to be slimmer, lose 15 pounds and be able to start the video again until I am the size I would like to be. My build screams "I can handle huge muscles!!" and I'm going to give it what it wants! It's all about goals and hard work! My BMI right now is at a 29.2, which is classified as being overweight. In order to be in the normal/healthy range, I need to get down between 114-149... My goal is to be down to 140 by the end of the year and I think it's very reasonable as long as my meds keep working, my work-out keeps working and I don't get pregnant by December hahah I would love to stay at 140 but I could go lower if my body allows me to get there healthy.

My Goals:

-Lose 30 pounds by September 1st.

-Lose 20 more pounds by December 31st.

-Have toned arms

-Lose my bra fat

-Start my period on my own without needing medication

-Get my testosterone level within normal range

-Drink more water and less soda

-Be able to hike to the top of the Natural Bridge without getting winded

-Discern portion sizes and control my eating at family events/holidays.

-Have clearer/less oily skin

-Get pregnant by the time hubby leaves for basic or just after technical training :-)

My Measurements:

Height: 5' 5.5" (I don't anticipate this changing)

Weight: 178

Bra Size: 40D

BMI: 29.2 (overweight)

Bust: 42"

Chest: 38.5"

Upper Arm: 12.5" (left), 13" (right)

Forearms: 10.5" (left), 10.75" (right)

Waist: 36.25"

Hips: 42" 

Thighs: 25" (yes, measured both and they were the same)

Calves: 15.5" (again, they were the same)

Neck: 14.75"

 

Oh, the Marvelous Things That Are Happening!

The title is a true testament to how I feel right now! Although, this doesn't help you much so I shall elaborate hahah

I went in for my follow-up appointment last Wednesday and it certainly boosted my confidence more than I ever imagined it would! So I went in hoping for the best (as good as news can get for progress and such) and got so much more!

First, my doctor is amazing. He has been rated top doctor in Cincinnati for reproductive endocrinology almost every year since 1997. The group I go to within UC, he created it. He is a professor and the head of the endocrinology department of UC Medical School. He's a people person, makes things not awkward (because this kind of stuff is awkward and embarrassing) and makes me feel like even though I know something inside me is not right, it doesn't make me less of a woman or that we can't tackle this problem with ease. He's an amazing man!

So to do a recap of events thus far with my doctor, my first appointment with his was in February when I go a recommendation from my primary doctor to go to him ASAP because there were some major concerns. Namely, my lack of periods, hair growth, super high testosterone level and various unusual pains. I was surprised at how quickly I got in with him and how nice everyone was in his office! I go into his office and we talk about PCOS, hirsutism and my periods. He did an ultrasound with a weird wand thing that he put in me to look at fibroids, ovaries and cysts. He said my ovaries were huge, my fibroids were out of control and that he was officially diagnosing me with PCOS. He told me to continue the birth control I started taking a couple months before, take Spirolactin and Metformin, he would do some blood tests and see me back in 3 months. Well when I got my blood work bck, I was happy that my testosterone went down from my last blood test in November where it was about 188. My weight stayed the same which was okay.

Well I wen in for my follow-up just last week and I am super excited!!!! He did my yearly PAP, which I assume will be normal because I haven't had issues in the past with it and I have no family history of any issues. He spoke to me about my progress and how I am feeling. I have lost 7 pounds!!! That is the first loss of weight I've experienced in 3 years, which is great because I didn't even really try to lose any weight (I can only imagine what will happen if I do) so he believes my medications are doing their job and I should continue them. He also spoke to me about having kids and what I would need to do to make this happen... Its pretty standard, hubby gets sperm count, I get some weird dye test that determines if my tubes are open and my uterus is looking good then I take Clomid and viola! (well hopefully viola! on the first try but who knows lol). I got more blood drawn and scheduled another follow-up for 2 months from now to talk about my dye test results and my progress at that point. He seems to think because of my age, my general health (all of my blood levels are great) and all that jazz, that I will have minimal problems conceiving.

I would like to say, I got my blood work back and I am excited! My first appointment, I got blood work done and my testosterone went down to 132 ng/dL on February 12, 2014. I got it done this time and my testosterone went down to 74 ng/dL on May 14, 2014!! That is the lowest it's been since 2009!!!!! EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!

I know for some that doesn't seem like a big reason to celebrate but for me this is huge! I've always had an imbalance and for me to hit my lowest level in 5 years is amazing! It's only been about 6 months of medication but I can only imagine what will happen during my next appointment. If I am lucky, I might actually be in the normal range, which I can honestly say has never happened in my whole life. New information from my mom has shown me that I have had a testosterone imbalance since I was 6 years old and was diagnosed with PCOS at age 7 (before I even started). I know this news excites the hubby because he is baby crazy and wants a child (so do I but I never felt confidence in my ability to conceive) but now I have all the confidence in the world to move forward with it. It is certainly not something we are rushing into but its nice to know that I now have the ability should we choose... Its nice to have options, ya know?

I will update with any information I get on my follow-up appointment! Good luck to all of you in your journeys as well! I would love to hear from you guys on your thoughts, struggles, victories and anything else you would like to share!

Update

So I got approval from my doctor to start on Atkins and started two weeks ago. So far it hasn't been too bad, just a little difficult at times.

Yesterday was Easter, so I cheated a little on my foods because the only option for me was to eat raw veggies and deviled eggs... They were only appetizers and honestly there weren't enough for me to make a meal and allow everyone else to snack. I got to my grandparents' house and asked what we were having so I could map out my meal plan. I ended up at about 50 carbs for the day instead of my 20-25 range BUT I still did great (seeing as how the recommended range is 250-300)!! I have lost a total of 5 pounds so far, no doubt due to my lack of exercise because of my hectic schedule and preparing for my finals/graduation. Once this week is done, I can safely schedule time at LEAST 3 times per week at the Y again and get to working on exercise AND diet. I think my doctor will be pleased with my progress so far.

A MAJOR accomplishment for me was when I put on this dress I have and wore it for Easter. It is an old, 50's style dress that looks like it came directly from the Kentucky Derby hahah but I LOVE it! It is a nice, bright blue with a slim fitting, pencil look all the way down, cap sleeves and a high but wide neckline. I purchased it and was able to (barely) wear it to church once in January... It took a lot of work on my hubby's part to get it zipped but we got it and I walked around all stiff lol Well I put it on yesterday and while it is still slim fitting and my boobs were smashed together a bit, it zipped up with no problems! I was so excited to feel that I had a little extra room, it didn't dig when I set down and it zipped up quickly with no issues! I know the scale says I haven't made much progress but that dress shows me I have!

Something I don't think anyone who doesn't have PCOS will ever understand are the little victories. For us, getting an unassisted period is an accomplishment. Ovulating is an accomplishment. Losing two pounds is an accomplishment. Not having to shave as often because our hormones are starting to balance or they finally found a medicine that works, is an accomplishment. Even getting pregnant (and carrying full term without miscarriage) is a HUGE accomplishment. I think people forget that or don't care to see it. PCOS is a struggle and it is not easy, even if it does not show on the outside that something is wrong, doesn't mean there isn't. There are not only the physical aspects of PCOS but also the emotional aspects. I couldn't tell you how many times I have gotten jealous and sometimes angry when I hear someone I know is pregnant. It is unnecessary but it happens. I get so angry at myself for knowing that I can't just go and get pregnant whenever I want, that it is going to take some work, pills or even expensive procedures. I know that when they have healthy, happy babies, I could miscarry or have a child with health issues. I get jealous because they can do what I can't and it kills me inside because I know that the hubby and I want our own child. It kills me that many of my medical procedures to have a child may not be covered by insurance but all of theirs are. It hurts to know that there is a possibility of it never happening. It is not something I have done to get in this little boat I am in, I am relatively healthy (aside from the weight gin I've experienced lately), I didn't drink or smoke myself silly or even do insane amounts of drugs. I have taken care of myself yet I got this. I like to look on the bright side though. Even if I can't have children of my own, I have been blessed with being able to raise two wonderful sister-in-laws. There is always adoption or surrogacy. God made me this way for a reason and so far has blessed me with a doctor who has the knowledge on how to make everything better or fix it. I know my case is different in some ways than others but I am making strides towards success and leveled out hormones.

I am hoping on my testosterone to go down during the next appointment and for my doctor to say, "Let's give this baby thing a try!". I have to wait a little bit until the hubby knows if he is able to enlist in the Air Force. If so, we'll wait until he enlists and is done with his technical training to try because we can only have so many dependents to start with and we're at the limit to enlist. After that, it's free range on how many and when we have them. I would like to have a decent sized family because we love kids but I will happy just to be blessed with at least one. Wish me luck!

Diet and Weight Struggles

For those of you who are new to this blog, I started it because I have been diagnosed with PCOS. If you are wondering why they is, click on the link at the top of this to find out information about it.
Those of you who didn't know me prior to the onset of my symptoms, may be shocked to find out that I used be a normal weight, pretty fit and muscular person and when my symptoms started popping up, my weight started packing on and before I knew it, in a matter of a year, I gained approximately 20-25 pounds. I didn't realize it until I went to my yearly exam with my doctor and she was like "Uhm we need to do something about this!". I still wasn't diagnosed with PCOS at that point. I had other health problems (digestive problems and had my gallbladder removed) so I attributed it to that and just kept my fat/greasy levels down on all of my foods so that I could keep my digestive symptoms and pain down. I like to attribute the weight gain (it happened around the time) to the fact that my husband and I suddenly got custody of my husband's twin sisters (story here if you're interested in reading and want to understand what I'm talking about) and the stress we had to deal with. It is not their fault but it certainly didn't help that life got crazy, schedule got busy and probably eating too much because of stress.

Due to my digestive issues, I had to cut meat out of my diet altogether. I couldn't do fast food most of the time. I was really restricted until my doctor put me on Metformin. (I know the side effect is bowel issues but it had the opposite effect, it fixed all of my food intolerance problems) As with all diet changes and being on medication, I did get approval from my doctor to change my diet. He actually said a reduction in carbs tends to help women with PCOS who have a hard time losing weight, to lose weight... Great news for me and hopefully some of you too!!

I have decided that I am done starting and stopping a diet because my husband won't eat this or eat that. This time he's totally on board with our new plan and it is something that my doctor recommends anyways: reducing my crabs. We have chosen to abandon our vegetarian diet for Atkins. So far it has been very easy and not taken too much of a toll on my energy or anything. So far I've had to force myself to remember to make time to eat breakfast because I hardly ever eat breakfast during the week. I will eat a snack between breakfast and lunch, so far it has been celery one day and pepperoni slices w/ cream cheese today. I will eat a lunch, so far both days it has been salad with cheese and ham cubes on it. My second snack will consist of sugar free Jell-O with a dollop of homemade whipped cream (whip up whipping cream and some Stevia). Dinner has been a salad with boiled eggs, ham cubes and cheese with about 3 crab legs. Tomorrow I'll be able to cook some dinner and I'm thinking of making this delicious sounding Mexican Lasagna. Apparently you steam cabbage with a little butter and cook ground beef with some garlic, cumin, chili powder and other spices you like, drain both (not together). Put the cabbage on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and top with ground beef. Put a little salsa on top of the meet, some sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. Serve it up with a salad or some mashed cauliflower... YUMM!!!!

I have used the Atkins web app to track my progress (none has been made yet since I started on Tuesday) but I can put my food in the log and add my weight/measurements and makes changes to track my progress in the long run compared to my goal. I am just hoping I make some progress. I don't know about you but one thing that keeps me from moving forward with diets a lot of times is when I see zero progress after I've worked hard or dieted well. Nothing kills my motivation faster than seeing no results from my hard work. Right when I started to gain a little weight, I remember we were going to then gym 4-5 times a week for approximately 2-3+hours each time (depending on our schedule), eating a 90% raw, vegetarian diet but I was only gaining weight and my pants only kept getting tighter.... The exact opposite of what I was busting my butt to happen!!!

I will keep my weight loss journey updated as it goes along. I am hoping to motivate someone to make some changes to improve their health or lose the weight they want by doing this. I know this won't be an immediate results deal and will be work but I am willing to do it! These few pounds could be the difference between my happiness, my health and my future offspring coming to life!

Wish me luck!

Symptom update

Well it's been a little bit since my last post. Life has been a whirlwind and my symptoms have been so up and down that I'm not sure what to think...

I started taking the medication prescribed by my wonderful doctor but unfortunately I started having some severe nausea everyday and vomiting for half of the week, to the point I was eating nothing more than crackers when I could keep them down... It was bad. My doctor took me off of the aldactone for a week to see if that changed anything and it didn't so he put me back on it and told me to try to eat more. I am not supposed to take the medication with no food in my stomach so I increased my food amount and so far it seems to be going well. I've only had two days since then that I've felt nauseous and one day where I vomited. I am not seeing any increase or decrease in weight or appetite yet. I have been cutting back on my portioning and sweets. I did give up soda for lent so there is another thing out of my diet. I have not been able to really work out, my schedule is wayyyyyy too busy to get serious exercise in. I have been taking the stairs everywhere I go and trying to run up them instead of walk all the time. It's at least something.

I have had a pretty noticeable and awesome side effect of the medication. So usually I would not be able to eat meat because of how it reacts with my stomach and the Metformin typically has some less than desirable bowel side effects. Now that I have been on all medications, I have been able to eat meat!! I have been without chicken, beef, steak, pork, etc. for almost a year but I have recently discovered that I can eat it. I still have issues with fried/greasy foods and popcorn but I'm at least able to have a wider range of foods when we go out to eat lol

Another symptom that I have noticed has been having two periods in one month for February and March. Not spotting, like full blown periods, two of them, two weeks apart. Aggravating! I decided to skip the one I am supposed to be having right now because frankly I am sick of dealing with it and just need a break (after all, one of them did just end two weeks ago!).

I do have a follow-up with my doctor in May and in that appointment we will be having a discussion about how things have been going, possible future treatment options and the possibility for children in the near future. I am hoping that any round of medication that we have for conception works the first round and we can have a happy, healthy baby (ideal, wishful thinking lol) but we all know that there are challenges that can come with fertility treatments. We are hoping to have a child here within the next year or two, its something that we feel e are financially prepared for, have enough space in our home and are at a good age to extend our family, not to mention my family wants (without saying it directly) us to have kids. Just typing about it makes me a little excited at the prospect!

Well I believe this is all the news I have for now. I will post when I speak with my doctor in a month or if my symptoms change.