Starting HCG this cycle(yeah)

So I am on the HCG diet. Losing weight nicely. Dr. is having me start HCG injection this cycle on P+3. I will keep you posted. For the record I am on Femara, progesterone and estrodiol on P+3-12 and now 10,000iu HCG on P+3.

I'm having funky side pain from the Femara today so I will cut this post short.

HCG Protocol and update

Eesh....been almost a month. Sorry about that. A quick update as we are preparing for 4th of July here tomorrow. My total loss during R1P2 of HCG was 40 lbs.
I am now on a similar plan to Atkins to stabalize my weight. Then we will start adding back in healthy grains, etc. in a few weeks then vacation. I will be going to the doctor this week and hope to get some help with luteal phase and ovulation. I will keep you posted.
Sorry so short. Much to do and cleaning out all the clothes that are too big. Hope everyone has a safe 4th of July!

New post, Christmas and other musings

Firstly, I have been neglectful. I need to visit and share on this blog because(for one), things are beginning to look up on the fertility front. I had a wacky last month and couldn't even take progesterone because my P day happened two days before my next cycle started. I am CD12 and so far a 10CKL...hmmm...what???? I usually have P on day 19-22 so this is looking good.

I am NOT ready for Christmas. Nothing wrapped, still need to clean, bake more, etc. Mr. Thorn is waiting for me to stop typing so we can have some time to relax. It's been hectic. Homeschool, work and life took over. I miss blogging, I miss visiting blogs...I am just trying to balance.
I am hoping to get labs on P+7 and make an appointment for the first of the year to see what the dr. thinks. I am trying to be patient. Praying that God help me to find health, I am fairly over-worked and not taking care of myself. I pray the new year will find me healthier, and if I am diligent, maybe thinner. I hope to catch up and post again over Christmas but I'm still working on sending out cards and wrapping. I was sick over a week and that didn't help matters. I still keep blog friends in my prayers.

New stuffs and healthcare

We had a crazy finish to the end of our first quarter for homeschool and today is my first "breather". Things are going okay, I'm trying to focus on the basics, the kids like the extras(art, music, latin) so I try to do what I can. I got my bowels in an uproar after watching the congressional votes go down(live) on Saturday. It sicken me that people are getting so focused on abortion that they are allowing socialist medicine and control of our lives to waltz in the door. This is the evil one using what we hold dear, life, to determine our destiny. Am I the only one that knew the reason they allowed the Stupak Ammendment to even be an issue was because it was the ace in the hole that pushed it through? It was black and white as I watched it all unfold.
On another note, I am in my first cycle with prometrium supplements along with the B6 and D. I have 10 days of 8-10 CM of various types in this cycle. I started prometrium on P+3. Odd side effects but I will deal. I must mosey to teach another lesson and shower for my ds doctor appointment. I'm feeling frustrated today...not about homeschool, life in general. More on that later.

Doctor visit and protocol

I went to doc yesterday and I went sick. Mr. Thorn had to take me with all three Thorns in tow. I had a migraine for over 12 hours, nausea and fatigue so he looked around, said I have an infection(viral), I got two shots in the hip and we talked about the lab results. My estradiol was fine, got up to 133 but progesterone was horrid. He said it was good news because it is something we can treat. So this month, I am starting progesterone on P+3 to 12. This, with the B12 and Vit. D should get my progesterone back to a good level and push P earlier in the cycle. So we have a plan and that's a positive thing. After 5 months of failed labs, I finally have something. They tried to get labs while I was in the office for some general things(T4, wh blood cell ct, etc) and blew another vein. This is very normal for me. I have very tiny and deep veins. I have always had them, no matter how old I am or how much weight is on me. Just stinks. So I left without getting that. Last time I went to the hospital in KY for labs, there was an H1N1 parade and I was a wreck. I looked like a crazy lady with the hand sanitizers and shuffling my kids out hurriedly. We found out tonight my husband's nephew has H1N1 but he is home from hospital. I prayed in the car for him. He must be scared.

Today I am a bit better. Can't sleep much(it's late here). We went to IKEA for dinner...2.49 for the meatball dinner with fixings and kids eat free. We actually had to trade in our lighting fixtures, bought the wrong type so it was a well-meaning trip. Still trying to balance homeschool, work, house and faith and it's a tightrope. I only get through each day with God's help. I basically pray not to screw things up too badly. So far it seems to be working. Lord, just keep us well and shield our faith.

More pregnancies and hope for whatever comes

I learned that 3 of my blog friends, all have had issues with IF and/or M/C, are now expecting. Two of my local friends have just given birth too(with some reproductive issues as well). In my weakest moments, this would make me sad and wonder why I have such extreme fear and wondering who can possibly help me(my last dr appointment went something like "this is a spiritual battle you are waging, you need spiritual help, someone who can pray for you, the evil one didn't even want you here today, trust me"...yeah....this is why I have been quiet on the posting front). So....we pray our family rosary all the time for my friends who are pregnant, experienced the loss of miscarriage or cannot conceive. I had one of those very weak moments yesterday when my young dd whispers to me at the mall that she gets sad when she sees girls with little sisters and she was sorry she felt that way. Sigh. Then as we are driving last night, Mr. Thorn and I were discussing the current state of things, fertility-wise, I started tearing up and I'm trying to keep composure in front of the kids. I told him I don't know if anyone prays for us(when it comes to children). Just then this HUGE family of deer were out in total view, very close to our van and stared right at us. There were at least 6-8 deer. So all night I wondered, we prayed, and I realized God hasn't given up on me yet. I can't give up on me.
I also was able to stop by my friends who just gave birth on Thursday(a month early) and it was just so special. He was so little, so perfectly made and her next youngest dd was so in awe of this little guy. It was so cute and so powerful to see God's work. So, I continue to thank God for the children I have, I ask that if my days are over, please take this desire away(it remains) and I am inspired by the women who surround me who have beat the odds, relied on God's grace and have amazing stories of fear, hope and loss. I hope those who are in a similar situation like I am, may realize that God's signs to us are all around. He works through others, and through nature. Be open to Him, always pray for the truth and continue to hope.

Homeschool, labwork and other things

I'm in the middle of my hormonal screen and I'm now having to give labs through an "infant butterfly" because my veins shrunk, too deep, all that. Tonight the guy hit a nerve and my left arm is all wrecked. I suppose I don't need it as much as my right but dang, hurts. On another note, we received our book list/curriculum from the academy today. I can't buy anything until our consult but it is nice to know things are progressing. It seems classical all around which gives me comfort. I hope the kids respond well to it. They are doing well and enjoy Latin so I am taking that as a sign to continue and feel positive and as my grandma used to say "keep your chins up".
On the fertility front, I had ANOTHER 10CL today...2 x's. What the heck? Day 27?? Maybe that is the B6, I dunno. It seems odd. I will feel better progressing with the doctor and my supplements. Hope and moving on has to be good.
Please pray for a blog friend who experienced a miscarriage in the past few days. My heart goes out to her and her husband. I prayed so hard this weekend...and I prayed for my infertile friends...I always remember to pray for them. Keeping hope, that is always important to a couple that has fertility issues or miscarriage. I hope my words that I write here may comfort someone who is in pain over loss or has lost hope in holding a baby some day. It is a lonely road but faith and hope are crucial. I promise. I try not to beat myself up too much over personal weaknesses or shortcomings. I pray every day that God help me to become the person He wants me to be. I never know what that will be. All I can do at this point in my life is trust.
I will post about my labs and chart weirdness when I know something. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.

Fertility, peaches and heat

Here we go:
A. I had an official "10CKL" this cycle so I got for the hormonal screen on Tuesday(yeah).
B. We went to a farm in Hebron and a farmer's market in Burlington on Saturday(yes, in the pouring rain) so I have amazing peaches, melon, beans, fresh basil and on and on....(yes, I'm still raw).
C. Summer is back and we are rightfully in the 80's again.

I have been spending time with kids, weaning off of some of the boys meds I want to get rid of, spending time making raw foods, helping with the homeschool blog....
Anyway...still here. I will definitely be posting updates from the fertility front as soon as I know more. Just glad to NOT have a dry cycle. I hope one day I can say "never give up hope" when it comes to baby wishes. Until then, we keep plugging along.

Here is where I am stuck on the fertility front

I have been about 75-80% raw for 8 days now. I am on day 38 of my cycle and have no red stickers in sight(if you know what I am talking about). Took 2 tests, both negative. So I am reading about raw foodists and what happens to the cycles and had to call both my practitioner and doctor and say "what now?" I was supposed to have a hormonal screen done on P+3-12, every other day. Didn't happen this month. I have no idea where I am. I had 10DL's on day 34-35....so there ya have it.
Here are some links I found on raw foods and cycles:

Link 1
Link 2
I am trying to balance out what I believe to be healthy foods that need to be cooked for their nutritional value. I am not sure how it will go. I can't have a cessation of menses make sense and be "healthy" in my mind. Nor do I think after a bit more than a week, I have freaked my system that badly. I think it is a delay and hope to pray and research some more. I couldn't find valid info on where I am at with the diet and "life" to make sense of it for me, personally.

We are going RAW, baby!(Sort of...)

I put it off, it has been in the back of my brain for over a year now and today, we took the first step. Tomorrow night is my NFP refresher course. Yesterday was a sucky day in that the whole, missing the twins, aging doom, everything came crashing down. This afternoon, we went to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and I am now the proud owner of the first items to start my journey into eating raw. Mr. Thorn is my sort of unwilling partner in crime on this. We started out with baby steps. I have some grains, raw nuts, raw almond butter, sprouted bread, a jar to make sun tea, lots of greens, frozen berries and some add-ins like flax oil and seeds. I'm ready to take this fertility thing by the horns. Okay, hopefully my health and body will come along for the ride. I prayed that God would lead me and direct me in something I could do to transform our lives. I need health and wellness and my normal body back. I will post on our journey and hope we stay strong and motivated. I was vegan many years ago so this isn't totally foreign to me. Mr. Thorn, he was a meat and potato guy so keep him in your prayers. He may lose it on me. I will prepare the foods and gradually add them into our weekly meal plans and hope for the best. I'm trusting God on the homeschool AND this new raw diet.
I was very inspired back when I read Lyn Vaccaro's writings online about how the raw diet helped her overcome her history of miscarriage and she went on to have two successful pregnancies at 42 and 45 thanks to the raw diet. I have her blog on my sidebar and she has so much good info on infertility, diet and aging. It's all worthwhile to read.
I made our first smoothies with kale, collards, spinach, berries, bananas, flax seeds, flax oil and apples tonight. Eventually, we may need a more high powered blender. It was much better after I added the bananas. Before it was too "kale-ish". So I put the leftovers in the fridge for morning. I am hoping to order at least one book to help with recipes and stocking our pantry. We are going by the Internet and winging it a bit. I hope we can do this on our budget and with our time available. I think this diet has come a long way in the past 5 years thanks to the Internet. There are many how-to videos and articles plus some easy recipes.
So there you have it. I am going to try and report back each week so you can see our progress and hopefully, it will help someone else.

Fertility and carbs

Fat, Carbs and the Science of Conception
I stumbled on this article and found it fascinating! It is a legit study of how slower/faster digested carbs affect the ability to conceive and stay pregnant.
It reminded me that my diet is bad again and needs to change. Lord, help me with this.

First communion, time to be counted(Notre Dame) and baby dreams

We are finally getting the invitations out for the first communion today. I hope we have a decent turnout. I have no way of knowing. The caterer isn't returning our calls so I pray that we get that taken care of(somehow). Being thrown back into life is creepy. Necessary but creepy. I was anxious while I was away, knowing I had so much to do here and wasn't working.

We also have the school decision looming over the whole family. I have been waiting for God to hit me over the head with the answer and I can tell you, it's been mostly mixed signals. My oldest son is getting wonderful grades. A far cry from his old school where he was feeling totally lost and overwhelmed. My middle son is struggling and not making any friends and is really quite on the edge of missing everything important. My youngest is bored and talks a lot(but gets straight A's). So that leaves me with what can I do. I still have to run my business and can't totally give that up to home school. I have special needs boys who struggle with academics as well as some behavioral issues. When it gets down to it, it's just me and them. People will say they will help or be there but I can't count on it. I need to make sure I can do this totally alone, while running my business and keeping up with the household. If I didn't have to work, it would be a no-brainer.

It saddens me to think of our dreams of another child, adoption, etc. That is an unknown and I have had trouble visiting that issue. I have not had time to deal with "me", including my health or fertility. I have put everyone else first since the losing the twins. I really feel everyone has given up on me every carrying a baby to term let alone getting pregnant again. Not having hope in something is a scary place to be. I have always said "keep hoping and keep faith in God's plan for you". I haven't seen signs of a light at the end of the tunnel for our family(and our hopes for a baby). There is a fine balance of hoping for life and becoming selfish about the matter. I have three children, I have lost 4, I hope for one. Some days I feel selfish, some days I have no hope. Some days I read stories about my blog friends who have been given a cross of infertility and my heart breaks and I pray that my suffering and loss be offered up so they may know and be given the gift of life they so desire. I didn't mean to go off on the fertility/miscarriage road but it is obviously a factor in our lives or I could lay it to rest. I am not at peace with it. I apologize to God every day for this.


On another note, I am living in a diocese where our bishop has NOT made a statement of any kind on the Notre Dame scandal. Either he has no opinion, doesn't care or doesn't want to hurt some one's feelings who voted for Obama. Who knows. It's gets me worked up that people give him a pass. What kind of leader is that? Have an opinion, stand firm for Holy Mother Church and her traditions and what it means to be Catholic. I'm tired of Covington pretending to be protestant. I see it in the Mass and in the attitude of the people. It's too milk toast for me(and many). Be catholic in all areas of life. Period.

***The bishops who have so far expressed disapproval of Notre Dame's invitation to Obama (in alphabetical order) are:
1. Bishop John D'Arcy - Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN
2. Bishop Samuel Aquila - Fargo, ND
3. Bishop Gregory Aymond - Austin, TX
4. Bishop Gerald Barbarito - Palm Beach, FL
5. Bishop Leonard Blair - Toledo, OH
6. Archbishop Daniel Buechlein - Indianapolis, IN
7. Bishop Robert Baker - Birmingham, AL
8. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - Lincoln, NE
9. Archbishop Eusebius Beltran - Oklahoma City, OK
10. Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú - San Antonio, TX
11. Bishop Paul Coakley - Salina, KS
12. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo - Houston, TX
13. Archbishop Timothy Dolan - New York, NY
14. Bishop Thomas Doran - Rockford, IL
15. Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty - Scranton, PA
16. Bishop Robert Finn - Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO
17. Cardinal Francis George - Chicago, IL; President, USCCB
18. Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger - Evansville, IN
19. Archbishop José Gomez - San Antonio, TX
20. Bishop William Higi - Lafayette, IN
21. Archbishop Alfred Hughs - New Orleans, LA
22. Bishop Joseph Latino - Jackson, MS
23. Bishop Jerome Listecki - La Crosse, WI
24. Bishop William E. Lori - Bridgeport, CT
25. Bishop George Lucas - Springfield, IL
26. Bishop Robert Lynch - St. Petersburg, FL
27. Bishop Joseph Martino - Scranton, PA
28. Bishop Charles Morlino - Madison, WI
29. Bishop George Murry - Youngstown, OH
30. Archbishop John J. Myers - Newark, NJ
31. Bishop R. Walker Nickless - Sioux City, IA
32. Archbishop John C. Nienstedt - St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN
33. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien - Baltimore, MD
34. Bishop Thomas Olmsted - Phoenix, AZ
35. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk - Cincinnati, OH
36. Bishop Kevin Rhoades - Harrisburg, PA
37. Bishop Alexander Sample - Marquette, MI
38. Bishop Edward J. Slattery - Tulsa, OK
39. Bishop Richard Stika - Knoxville, TN
40. Bishop Anthony Taylor - Little Rock, AR
41. Bishop Robert Vasa - Baker, OR
42. Bishop Thomas Wenski - Orlando, FL


I need to catch up with all my orders. I hope to read up on blogs I missed while I was away later tonight.
(***From lifesitenews.com)

Enough with the suspenders!

I was in a "didn't get much sleep last night" stupor and did not realize how obvious my last entry came across. Rather than keep you in suspenders, I'm coming out with it. We are expecting and it was quite well, unexpected. While I was getting my health in order and adjusting to the new way of eating, we stopped charting and stopped trying. Guess what? God wanted this on His terms and that is just what we got. I am 8 weeks today and feeling blessed but arfy. I have to say that the nutrients I received through IV therapy attributed to this amazing transformation. I conceived less than 2 weeks after seeing the doctor and 3 total IV treatments. He said it usually take 6-8 treatments and couldn't believe it happened so fast(I am NOT young, by any means). We had hoped to start charting and trying after the new year.
For those not familiar with my journey, you can search by keyword "infertility" or "fertility". In short, I was able to conceive 3 children using Napro Technology(Creighton) and then with our fourth pregnancy, I miscarried and the baby stopped growing at 8 weeks. After that, I could not get pregnant(tried two+ years). Last year I started clomid in the summer and conceived in August and miscarried again at 5 weeks(a blighted ovum). At 40, I figured I would need help conceiving let alone having a viable/full-term pregnancy. So here I am, praying and trying to keep my head on. I am thankful to be here but do not take this miracle for granted. I am hopeful but I know if God needs me to suffer(again), it will happen but I hope for life. I never stop praying for my blog friends still trying to conceive and carry a child to term. The catholic in me feels guilt and I can't help that. It's not that I am not thankful, I am cautious and feel hurt from those I know who still struggle. I hope my miracle can bring hope. I have been inspired by so many of you and couldn't hold my news back knowing my words may help someone pray that God will lead you to the place or event with answers.
This food plan is hard but I attribute my way of eating to fixing my old and wonky hormones. I can say that Lyn Vaccaro and floridawife were an inspiration in finding the "nutrition" and supplement component that nudged me in the "food" direction. Once your liver is free to do it's thing, your hormones will behave. Now that my hormones are raging, the hot drinks, protein and veggies are harder to choke down. I tell God everyday that I will do my best. Right now, no food sounds good. Eh. At least I feel horrible, that's a good thing.
So I thank you all for prayers, know that I still pray everyday for those who desire life that I have met online. If this screwed up(and not too healthy) old lady can do it, there is hope. I was so thankful today, a priest dear to us blessed our unborn baby, I was able to go to confession and both my boys served at the EF together for the first time(what a day). Thank you again for thinking of me in your prayers and I will keep praying for you too!

How wierd is this?

Scientists try to stop hunger with retooled foods

I haven't shared much details about my eating plan since I started one month ago. It is interesting, to say the least. The article I linked to reminds me much of the way that I am eating. It is not low carb or a "diet". I try to eat something every two to three hours. If I have gone past three, I feel it. For the record, I am down one size and 28 pounds. I don't feel wiped out or odd and it really is "shrinking" me(that's the term my doctor uses). What do I eat? A lot of soup(no noodles and only little corn or red potato if any), lean meat, fish or chicken, nuts, egg, low fat mozzarella cheese, beans(any kind) and vegetables(no heavy starch like potato and no pasta or bread. That's it. Once a week I bake pineapple to get the sugar our and can have that. I have NO COLD BEVERAGES. All hot, mostly tea and coffee. These things have sped up my metabolism and kept me on the plan. I half went off one day(with the funeral situation) and had a cold drink and honestly, it burned going down. I couldn't finish it. The plan has a two-fold target. To "shrink me" and so I can "get conceived"(doctors words, again). The purpose of the hot beverage is so that my food digests well and I never get hungry(and I don't). I have looked, by the way, and have not seen this way of eating anywhere on the Internet. It works, so far and we are shrinking and will note the other goal to "get conceived" if and when that happens. I am also crowding out things that hamper fertility like yeast overgrowth, bacteria, digestive problems, etc. The doctor did say that because the ovaries are so close to the opening of the intestines, digestion and stomach acids can effect fertility in a big way. I get that now. If I can "get conceived" without clomid, that would be amazing. Right now, we are getting my body normalized and my system working properly. I will continue to update. I hope there is someone who can benefit from this information. I have always appreciated bloggers sharing their journey and what worked for them.

Back

We were out of town visiting my MIL and while it was difficult, I am glad we went and she even wanted to see her grandchildren(which wouldn't have happened if Mr. Thorn had went by himself.) She is not improving but staying the same with long periods of sleep. We will continue to pray.

I have had some questions regarding the regimen of food and supplements(via email) that I have been taking. The doctor is trying to shrink fat cells and optimize my hormones and ovaries(ability to conceive and hold a pregnancy). I have learned a lot. One of the most life-changing regimens is not drinking cold drinks. Nothing cold. I am to heat water, tea and coffee and that is all I drink(even to take supplement pills) This proved challenging while we were out of town but we did it. Typically, I need to eat every two hours to keep something in my stomach, always. This maximizes metabolism and keeps me from ever being hungry. The only challenge to this is on Sundays with fasting and High Mass. I will work this out, I'm still getting used to it. I eat nothing sweet(not even fruit, unless you count a tomato).

For the supplements I am taking Zymex II, Hydro Zyme, A.D.P., Cataplex EZ, Bil T4 & T8 and my dessicated adrenal and thyroid(for now). I still take my whole food supplement too. I know this seems like crazy jargon to those who are new to my health and infertility journey but to finally arrive at a doctor who doesn't turn me away with an "I don't know" is huge. When your organs and glands aren't working properly, you can't lose weight, get pregnant, stay pregnant or be anything resembling healthy. That is who I am right now. My basal body temps have been under 97 degrees this entire cycle. I am in heavy detox from yeast(candida), parasites and bad bacteria. These are found in most adults whether they want to think about it or not. They cause our digestive problems, sinus problems and a grocery list of other evil things. I've done detox before and this one must be working or I wouldn't be feeling like I do. The doc said "Give me three months". I can definitely do that. While it is a sacrifice having nothing sweet or a cold drink, I can use it for good and offer it up.

I know I have not been posting as regularly as I used to. I am saddened by events(spiritually) in my local diocese and just not wanting to go there for now. When keeping my children Catholic and prayerful becomes a full time job, I get worn out. I am not a crazed traditionalist. I am just a mom wanting to do right by my children and give them the Catholic identity that I did not receive as a child. In this diocese, at this time, it is nearly impossible. So, that's where I am with that.

If anyone wants more info on the doctor situation, let me know. I will keep posting about my progress and achievements. Hope is always a good thing.

P.S. - I know the economy is bad, the election looks sad and other heavy news. Is there anything we can do other than vote and pray? I live my Augustinian way of daily life as this: Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.

So I went to the doctor...

...and he's got me on a wild plan. But, it makes sense. He wants me to shrink. He is running "real" labs on me on Monday and I am sending away a saliva sampling. I am on supplements for parasites, an anti-fungal(yeast overgrowth), angina(scary), adrenal and thyroid and the hormonal supplements are coming soon. We are working on speeding up my metabolism and getting me healthy. The oddest thing? Nothing cold. I have to heat up my drinking water, I can have coffee and tea(caffeine is good, speeds up metabolism) and have to have something in my stomach always. And I can have goat's milk. Heated. So I am eating eggs, tomato, chicken, carrots...that is about it. Oh, and nuts. I will keep you all posted. He does well with women trying to conceive so it looks like I am on the way to health and getting better(I have hope again!). The cold thing is interesting. Apparently, it causes your stomach to empty out quickly so you never feel satiated. He said that's why fast food places let you have unlimited cold pop, you eat more ;) The plan is that this will shrink the fat cells and regulate the hormones. Having my digestion out of whack is affecting the role of the ovaries since they are tied together. If anyone wants to know the supplements and program, I can email you what I am on. So there you have it. I prayed long and hard about this and want to be healthy and whole again.

Thyroid/supplement update

I am up to 2 capsules per day of the desiccated thyroid and on one adrenal tablet. I am continuing on the other supplements, started about 5 weeks ago. My basal temp is usually around 96.5 this time during my cycle. This am it was 97.37. That is really high for me. I wish I would have stuck to my gut feeling I had a year and a half ago. Low temps, losing hair, can't lose weight...I would get some blood work done but our insurance pays horrible on labs. Last January, my estrogen was low. I hope this thyroid discovery helps regulate the estrogen and progesterone levels. I thank God I am on the right path to health. I hope maybe the thyroid/fertility connection is brought to light more by the medical community. It took me so long to get here.

Back to square one. Fertility.

I have been praying much about my health, fertility and well-being lately. It led me to go back to Marilyn M. Shannon's book Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition . I am glad that I did. In chapter 6 of the book, she talks about low thyroid function. This is what initially led me to going to an endocrinologist. I left with no diagnosis. Normal basal temps should be between 97.4 and 97.8. I am on day 18 and my basal today was 96.76. Not good. I've been to two endos with no diagnosis and at this point I'm frustrated and mad. I can't get energy, lose weight or maintain a pregnancy.

Today I took matters into my own hands through an online site of people who have been in my position. Stop the Thyroid Madness has natural ways to help people through diet and supplements. I am doing it, forging ahead and realize I can take blood tests until the cows come home and I will still be sub-clinical. I have many, MANY of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. My son is HT as well. I am starting slow on the supplements. I am currently on supplements for liver, whole food multi, red clover, B's, C and E. The thyroid tabs will be another addition. I'm quite sick of doctors and labs. All they have provided is unpaid bills that my insurance won't cover because they cannot diagnose me. If I felt like I was the least bit off in my observation, I would not be taking this step. Not one of my endos would make anything of my low temps. If they can't solve it with a big-pharm pill or surgery, it doesn't exist. (I warned you I was mad and frustrated). I was able to get pregnant a year ago. I don't want to jump back on that clomid train until I solve the underlying problem. I suppose I am just frustrated that I allowed the doctors(endos in particular) to bully me to the point of giving up. I will keep you posted on how this goes. I'm sure someone has dealt with this. I just don't know who.
(The bunny pic isn't related. I just needed something darn cute to cheer me up...ha)

Fertility, crafts and waffles, oh my!

What????? Blogger is wigging out tonight. I can't get on blogger sites regardless of rebooting, etc. I'm sewing, lots of orders to get out of here and Christmas designs to get modeled. We went to get "crafts" earlier tonight and then, of all things, had dinner at Waffle House(cheap and the kids liked it). My order came today from Botanic Choice(they had a great deal last weeks on vitamins and supplements) which includes a Whole Foods blend, an easily digestible "ester" E, a liver health formula and Absorb B-12. I am going to stay on these the whole month and call my OBGYN about Clomid for next month. I must be nutty, kids at a new school, trying to finish the fall and holiday lines, working on fertility and weight loss plus trying to stay sane and pray around the clock for everything and everybody. Hmm. Oh, I did get some anise seed powder than I am going to use for something(ha, it was a filler for my order, smells yum).

I have been doing things with the kids and we are going to have to do the family "tye dye" project soon here in Craftville. I hope I remember all my dye rules from my college years. I can just see all the new uniform shirts and socks turning our dye colors. This is a cool set of instructions I found:
Tye Dye
Don't go thinking we would wear these to church or anything crazy. We are trying to make our own project and family time since we couldn't afford to go anywhere this summer. The shirts were an easy buy from Walmart, none cost more than about $5. Maybe we will tackle this project this weekend. I will post how they turn out. Perhaps with photos if I we aren't too disappointed with the results. I miss hitting my blogs I read. Just can't get there tonight. We will probably watch tv. I will try the blogs again over coffee tomorrow.

Still awake and cooking

...for tomorrow's cookout. We have to keep our dish fresh for over 4 hours so it has to be a cold side so we can keep it in a cooler. We helped my parents move into their new condo today and got home very late. I would love to move. We have so much to do to get the house ready. It is overwhelming. An agent I met at the salon on Friday said that our area is very hot right now so we may try to speed things up.

*(Female talk warning)* For my fertility friends, I am in a triphasic cycle with high temps currently and praying they stay high(I know many of you have been there). I dread going back on clomid. Yes, I am also 3 days late. So I keep praying and life is so busy right now that I just keep going and staying focused on the family and getting things straight for next school year. We don't even know what we are doing for Memorial Day. Eh, not a big deal. The Corpus Christi events at St. Bernard and my parents move are keeping us busy.