3 posts tagged “pregnancy”
Well, I've/we've decided to bite the bullet and go through some fertility testing. I had my yearly exam today at the gyno-- fun times let me tell you. You know, I actually hate the breast exam more than the pelvic one. There is something about getting my breasts smashed and probed by the doctors fingers that is similar to that horrible sensation of nails against chalkboard. And, I mean, she's really thorough-- which I should be grateful for, but it just feels terrible. I also heard on the radio this morning that the percentage of women getting mammograms is going down drastically. Uh, duh! Now tell me, how many women really want to get their breasts smashed like a pancake by a machine? Man, I don't. There has to be a better way!
After the typical exam, I had some blood work that will supposedly give the doctor a better idea of whether my ovaries and thyroid are functioning. But it doesn't stop there. I will return to have another test or two in her office and will then end up getting my tubes flushed. That's right-- MY TUBES FLUSHED. That means, if the other tests prove positive for fertility, then I will finish the ordeal with getting my tubes cleaned out. Apparently, some women can get blockages that are the cause of their inability to get pregnant. There is no other way to determine if the tubes are blocked. So, they have to flush them. It's a 10 minute procedure or less. Depending upon whether they are blocked it could be painful, but not unbearable I guess. Anyway, I guess I really don't have much choice. If it means my getting pregnant by the end of this year, then I'm game. However, before I get my tubes flushed, Dave will get to take his own little test.
Dave gets to make a deposit in a little plastic cup. I can help him with this here at home or at the lab. The catch is that if he does it here at home, we have to get the "sample" downtown within an hour.
I can't wait! Summer fun!
I don’t want to make light of the conception issue by making proposals that may seem ridiculous. However, those of you ladies out there who are trying to conceive may want to switch over to high fat dairy products. A study conducted for eight years by Jorge Chavarro at Harvard school of medicine suggests that women who have diets lower in certain fat intake decrease their chances for ovulation. The study concludes that dairy products may have a fat-soluble chemical, which improves ovarian function. If you weren’t aware of this before, you can have a period even if you haven’t ovulated. So, you might think you’re ovulating, but you’re not. It’s possible to have a period twelve months out of the year but maybe only ovulate eight of those twelve months.
Common sense tells us that healthy eating plays an important role in most of our daily activities. Even if you’re skeptical, it can’t hurt to live a little and experiment a little. After all, the benefits of eating or drinking one to three servings of whole milk or ice cream a day would have to outweigh not eating either of these. Try Horizon organic whole milk and Brown Cow all natural yogurt. When it comes to ice cream, however, it may be best to stick to the more natural flavors like strawberry, peach, or plain vanilla. The key, I guess, is to eat the dairy products in their most natural form. Ben and Jerry’s is still good too, I’m sure J.
It’s official—“Auntie Flow” arrived today. Once again I must sigh (with some relief). As of late, the sigh is the concrete evidence of the results this month, whether it be the results I wanted, or not. After days of a terrible PMS and thinking my symptoms were pregnancy symptoms, I am now relieved by some answer to this less than desirable physical state (even though pregnancy symptoms would elate me regardless of how bad they might be). My PMS is rarely this bad, but this month’s long sickly phase of headaches, fatigue, dizziness, mental and speech impediments, nausea, really sore breasts, muscle cramps, irritability and terrible gas among other things threw me for a loop. This month I had it all and managed to not turn into Mr. Hyde. It’s rare that I have bad PMS. But, like irregular periods, I suppose I should get an irregular PMS too. I’m sure everyone would agree that it seems unfair to go through that, think you’re possibly pregnant, and then get a period.
I’ve done myself no good by looking for clues (like I have nearly every month) that I might be pregnant because PMS and pregnancy symptoms are so strikingly similar. I know this, yet I do it every time. However, it is getting easier. The catch is, if you’re trying to conceive, then yes there is always the chance that you will be pregnant this month. So I have to ask myself why bother so much with the other details? If I start my period, then that’s that. If I miss my period take a test and discover I’m pregnant, the rest will soon follow. Allowing myself to journey forth to my period, if that’s the way it should be, will make getting a period a little easier. It’s probably impossible to not think of it at all, but if I keep spending the weeks up to the end of the cycle looking for clues and being obsessive over whether I could be pregnant or not, the arrival of “Auntie Flow” is all the more a letdown. Plus, I’m just missing out on the rest of my life.
The challenging part of trying to conceive is making it through each month, picking up and starting again. Reproduction is a fact of life—so are our periods. You also want your life to be about more than getting pregnant. So, we can embrace our periods as another part of being a woman and normalcy. I’ve developed a habit of treating myself to something I like (Starbucks or chocolate) after the letdown of my period. This helps to remind me that I will start fresh again with renewed strength. So here’s to a grande mocha and some ibuprofen! I have so much to be thankful for.
