Thursday, December 22, 2011

Cycle Review, plus "patience and persistence"

So, I finally got my cycle review (today is CD6).  My progesterone and estrogen were still good, but a little down from previous months.  Progesterone was 52.5 and estrogen was 18.2.  I wonder why these were a little down when I did all the same meds?  Weird.  After having stellar numbers the last few months, I feel like an underachiever with these numbers, even though I know they are still great.   

As for continued treatment, Dr. H wants me to stop the clomid, but continue everything else (biaxin, hcg injections, prog suppositories, vitamins, T3) and see how the p+7 numbers look.  I wonder if there will be some other medication introduced next month.  I feel like I am at a plateau and am eager to just do whatever is next.  

Funnily, I just ran to the store to pick up something, and Dr. H was being interviewed on Rele.vant Ra.dio.  I caught the tail end of it, but the thing that stuck with me was he said that there are two qualities that napro patients must have: patience and persistence.  I have the persistence part down.  I'm like a tenacious bulldog usually.  It's that patience thing that is so hard for me.  The waiting, the wondering, the not knowing what is going to happen.  As my blog name indicates, at some point in my life, I must have prayed for patience, because I am sure being forced to learn it.  My momma always said the worst thing you could pray for was patience.  

Another interesting thing, Dr. H was asked about the rise in infertility, and I have wondered about that for a while.  It seems like there are so many people nowadays who are infertile.  I swear it's something in our water and the foods we eat.  Perhaps the gov.er.nment is sterilizing the population with flouride or something.  Anyway, Dr. H said there were two main factors.  One was scar tissue (which he attributed to promiscuity and stds) and stress.  (I think he was going to name other issues, but he got interrupted by the pesky interviewer.)  Boy, that stress issue just keeps coming up.  How does one not be stressed, though?  The only thing I can think is win the lottery and hang out on the beach all day.  Or start smoking the grass.    

I was also glad to hear Dr. H swat down the interviewer's suggestion that people who adopt have babies.  He said that the pregnancy rate for adopters vs. non-adopters is the same.  So, there, all those people out there who have told me that so and so adopted and then got pregnant.  

I wish I had heard the full interview.  It was very cool to hear my doctor being interviewed on a national radio station.  It gave me new energy to keep on trying and be persistent.  Perhaps one day I will be one of those happy women calling in to the radio to thank him for my napro babies!


5 comments:

  1. I'm with you on the tenacious bulldog/impatience characteristics. How neat to hear him interviewed! If you figure out how to totally eliminate stress without "the grass" let me know, LoL. Hoping the change up in your med regimen does the trick!

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  2. Perhaps we could adopt the bulldog as our mascot?

    I agree that tenacity is something that we need in our IF struggle as well as patience and persistence. So many people treat their fertility like a commodity that it frustrates me to no end.

    Dr H is such an amazing man! Wish I could've heard the interview!

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  3. My mom always used to say the same thing to me about praying for patience...it's the reason I clicked on your blog the first time, I just *knew* what the title was referring to :).

    We need a Catholic IF button with a cross and a bulldog on it ;).

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  4. I remember in a previous cycle review the nurse emailed me, "Dr. Hilgers would like you to decrease your stress." I wanted to say, "I would if I could!!!" It's not like we are stressed on purpose! But I think we do live in a stressful society, and it can be so hard to combat that!

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  5. This is amazing! I'm so glad you posted about this. I am lacking in patience too. I keep begging and begging for a new treatment, hoping it will be "it." And stress ... are you kidding me? We're all in it up to our necks, especially with all the IF treatments. If only the "grass" were healthy & legal. :-)
    I'm not good at logos, but someone should come up with a logo, as commented above!

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