Busy, Busy Bee!

Man, the end of summer sure is busy! I have been go, go, go recently and I haven't had much time to do much of anything! We've had birthday parties galore, mixed in with bridal showers and weddings to attend. We've gone on a trip to Michigan for the best cheeseburger you will EVER eat, wine, and gambling at the casino AND SeptemberFest. SeptemberFest is Schaumburg's annual fest on Labor Day weekend and it is HUGE! We go every year for the craft fair and to play Bingo :)

Currently, I am notsopatiently waiting to O and having mini freakouts that the meds working last cycle was just a fluke. Irrational? Maybe. I thought I was going to O over the weekend or at least get some positive OPKs, but nada. Oh well. I guess time will tell, right?

**I will gladly eat crow if/when I actually ovulate this cycle!**

Whose Chart is This?!

Really, I would like to know! Is it really possible that this is my chart? But, it doesn't have tons of see-saw temps. Or tons of negative OPK results. Or random bouts of watery CM.

Instead, it has normal temps. And positive OPKs. AND SOLID CROSSHAIRS. Yep, that positive OPK last week was the real thing! I actually ovulated! And on CD15, too!

I am officially in my first sort-of real 2WW. I say sort-of because we had to TTA this month, so I am not waiting to test, just waiting for AF to show so we can get this show on the road!

2 Firsts, 1 Day

So, it's been 2 weeks since I've been on the meds and I really think they are working! Thank god, because I figured that if I had to deal with the nausea, vomitting, and diarrhea, something had to happen, right? Any hoot, something told me to check my CM this morning before work (I usually check during the day and in the evening when I get home from work), so I did. Lo and behold, I actually had EWCM! I have NEVER seen any before-the most fertile type I have gotten was watery.





Although I was really excited, there was a little part of me that didn't want to believe that my body could actually be doing what it was supposed to be doing. I wasn't going to do OPKs this cycle, because we are TTA this cycle, but it was killing me to think that I could actually be ovulating and I was too impatient to just wait and see what my temps looked like in a few days. I figured a trip to Walgreen's on my lunch break was in order. Now, I use internet cheapie OPKs from Amazon, so I was SHOCKED at how expensive a box of OPKs were! I do have to admit that I didn't want to have to stare, squint, etc. to decipher the test, so I sprung for the digital ones, but still. $35 for 7 tests?! Ouch.

I could not believe it! My first positive OPK!!I think my body is actually working again. I know that it doesn't necessarily mean that I will ovulate, but it's a start, right?

P.S. No, I did not take a picture of the actual OPK. Google Images is my friend :)

I'm Baaaaack!

I know, I know. I have been horrible at updating this blog lately. Obviously there isn't anything to report on the TTC front. I had another hella long cycle - this one ending at 98 days! Of course, it had to be ended with Provera again :(



BUT, I do have some good news on that front. I finally saw a new endocrinologist regarding my hypothyroidism and PCOS. I decided to go back to seeing an endocrinologist after having our family doctor treat my hypothyroidism and my ob/gyn seemingly not want to treat my PCOS. I really wanted to treat my condition rather than just try to get pregnant because, really what good does that do? Why not just treat the underlying problem and in turn get pregnant? Seems like a plan to me!



I went to the appointment armed with all of my test results from the last year and my charts that show I do not ovulate. I was prepared to state my case for wanting to be prescribed metformin because I was sure that I was, in fact, insulin resistant. Turns out, I didn't need any of it. The doctor asked me a ton of questions about my symptoms and how I felt. I was almost instantly relaxed because I knew where he was heading. He took one look at the back of my neck, noticed a skin tag, and instantly diagnosed me with IR (well, coupled with the fact that I am overweight, have all of my weight/fat in my abdomen, and have had difficulty losing weight).



I knew he was going to prescribe metformin and maybe tweak my thyroid meds. Since my main priority is to get pregnant, he wants to be aggressive in getting my IR under control. Usually he would give me metformin and increase the dose slowly to help with the side effects. Instead, he prescribed both metformin AND actos (both insuin sensitizing drugs). I started at 850 mg of the metformin and a week later, increased to 1700 mg (just today). I am following a lower GI diet (whole graines, no white foods, more protein and tons of fruits and veggies) and am aiming to exercise 3 times per week. This should help to decrease the side effects of the metformin and help me to lost weight.

We do have to TTA until I get a natural period (because of the Actos), but the doc seemed to think that it will only be a month or so until AF shows again. I am still charting because I want to see if the meds help me to ovulate, but I won't be to bothering with OPKs until we can TTC again. I really hope that this works. I really do not want to have to go on Clomid to help me ovulate. The doc is really confident that I won't have to, so I am trying to be optimistic. I'll be honest and say that I will be really disappointed if this doesn't work. I am on CD7 right now and am to call the doc if I don't get AF by mid-Sept.

On a better note, Dave finally got a new job!! We found out on my birthday (awesome b-day present, huh?!)! He will be working as a fire alarm inspector for a large alarm company. He won't be making as much as he did at his old job, he'll be back to the level he was in no time! This means that we can move forward with an RE if need be!

Hope everyone is having a great summer! I can't lie - I can't wait for fall. It has been in the 90s almost every day and I'm sick of it!

Well, I WAS optimistic.....

After last cycle, I really thought that this cycle would be different. That maybe the Provera would jump-start my period AND kick my ovaries in gear. Alas, it wasn't meant to be :(

It is currently CD55. Fertility Friend gave my cross-hairs (dotted, not solid) for CD30, but I don't believe it. Although, our timing would have been perfect, LOL. I am going to switch to temping vaginally next cycle and keep up with the green tea, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

This is starting to get depressing and I know it is all my fault. I really think that if I could just lose some weight, my periods would get back to normal and hopefully ovulate again. I am at the heaviest I have ever been and have begun to hate my body. I was so excited to buy all new clothes and then realized that I was buying them in a bigger size and I got even more depressed.

But it is very difficult, especially when the diets that used to work don't anymore. I don't know what to do. I've tried Atkins (which worked very well for me in the past) and nada. I tried Weight Watchers and just got so depressed after weighing in and barely losing a pound all week, when the weight was melting off everyone else. I thought about going on Nutrisystem, but really don't have the $$ to spend.

So, I'm at a loss as to what to do now. I am supposed to go to the doc at the end of next month if I am not pregnant, so I'll most likely be looking for, at the very least, an endocrinologist. I'm hoping to find a PCOS-friendly doc that will help in treating the PCOS (which the weight gain/difficulty to lose is a part of).

Any PCOS-ers out there have any ideas? Did Metformin help?

Finally, Lord Stanley is home where he belongs!

So, I have been MIA for awhile and it has everything to do with this:

After 49 looong years, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup! What makes it even more special is to see the fast turnaround from being one of the worst teams in the league to champions. Five years ago, you couldn't pay people to go see a Hawks game. Sports talk radio didn't even take calls from people wanting to discuss hockey. Now, you can't go anywhere without seeing someone in Hawks gear!

Welcome home, Stanley. Welcome to Hawkeytown!

I'm still here!

I know it has been awhile since I last posted, but I just didn't have anything really to post! I still don't actually! I just wanted to let y'all know that I'm still here :)

We've been very busy going out of town for Memorial Day (which I may post about, but I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures), to rooting on the Hawks in the Stanley Cup Finals (1 MORE WIN!!) and work. Since we've been back from our long weekend out of town, our plans have pretty much revolved around where we were watching the game and spending the least amount of time at home as possible! Seriously, we just want to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we've been having and that means not sitting in the house.

Now that I have sufficiently bored y'all to tears, I'm done :)

I promise to have something more interesting to write about next time!