Posts Tagged ‘About Brandi’

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Surgery It Is

Tuesday, September 5th, 2006

I got in touch w/ Dr. T’s fabulous staff today and they have me booked for surgery on Thursday afternoon. I went in for lab work this afternoon to make sure I don’t have any weird diseases that would render me inoperable. I’m going to get in touch with the woman who manages insurance tomorrow and clarify a few questions and get squared away on our cost after insurance. That new FSA money is going to come in handy right about now!

Should be pretty simple- a laproscopy and a hysteroscopy (There is also this link, and I’m really only including it because- HOW SCARY IS THAT PHOTO?!).

This should alleviate the cysts I’ve had taking up residence on my ovary all summer. Those seem to be the only things reproducing down there. We should also find what is causing these obnoxious periods and make those a distant memory. He did say that following surgery I’ll most likely go on birth control until we’re ready to start the IVF. This is for two reasons- one, will stop the cysts and two, will get my schedule on track with theirs.

We also decided to cancel the IVF class we were scheduled for Saturday. I don’t believe I’ll be up for going to class and figure someone else with a cycle sooner than ours can have our spot. We’ve actually spoken to a few people who were going to be in that class via email and were looking forward to meeting them. Hopefully they’ll send us a note telling us about their experience.

Will definitely post and let you know how everything goes. I’ll see you back here Thursday or Friday with new scars!

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Under the Knife?

Sunday, September 3rd, 2006

This entire summer my periods have been way off. And “way off” in this instance is defined by 10-15 days of unrelentless female hell.

Last month while at Dr. T’s, he thought there was a chance that a polyp had developed on my uterus. I asked if that had anything to do with my crazy cycle and he said possibly. He wanted me to go through one more month and see if it got any better, and to call at the end and report how it had gone.

At the end of my July (or August, I can’t keep track) period, I called in to let them know that this one had also hit the 15 day mark. The nurse said, well it says here in his notes that if you call in with a bad report that you’ve won a ticket to the operating room. He wanted to wait until my next period started to do the operation, and I was to call in once I started so they could schedule everything.

I made that call on Friday. So, being that it’s Labor Day weekend, I don’t imagine getting a call back any sooner than Tuesday. At that point I’ll know more about when and where.

Of course, no one looks forward to going to surgery. One, it’s expensive and so add this to the financial plate. Yay us! Two, there are always risks. But I’m confident in my doctor and having done this before, know what to expect. Three, the down time. But part of me is looking forward to a little forced down time. No excuses- just resting and getting better. And hopefully, an answer and an end to these horrid periods.

I will update you once I know more. In the meantime, I’m going to buy stock in the tampon company.

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No Room for Seconds

Sunday, July 30th, 2006

They say God doesn’t give us any more than we can handle, and I truly believe that. But I’m sending this as a message to God- my plate is seriously full. I’ve got no room for anything else, even gravy will crack the plate. And I hate gravy anyway so save it for someone else.

There is the constant stress and anxiety of this whole baby situation- constantly stressing, questioning, wondering, hoping. Work has been a little topsy-turvy lately, but I’m bending with that and rather enjoying the changes taking place. I’m the kind of person who breaks out in hives when change occurs. But I’m past that now. I’m ok.

This week some rather serious stuff has happened with my family and I’m just trying to roll with it. It’s a pretty bumpy roll- imagine rolling a square down the side of a mountain. More of a tumble than a roll, wouldn’t you say? There are a number of other things going on right now that are just so out of my hands. I’m really trying to be strong and take it and continue moving forward. But it’s so hard.

My whole life I’ve been like the glue in situations. At least that’s what everyone around me says. So I believe them. But I told Shelton the other night that I’m ready to just be one of the chunky parts that gets to fall off. I didn’t ask to be the tough one, but I guess that’s my job and I have to take it. One more thing God has placed on my plate.

Ok, so what does this have to do w/ my IVF story? Stress, pretty much. I was thinking this weekend how I could just feel through my entire body the stress- the stress of so many different things. I remember reading in “A Few Good Eggs” how so many women let the stress get the better of them and it wrecked their IVF attempts. I refuse to let that happen.

I know all of these events are a test. Testing my spirit, my strength, my heart, my will. And I know I’m going to pass, because I always pass, and I don’t accept any less than that from myself. But why now?

So, while I continue to deal and move through the many things I have going on, including the IVF and infertility, I’m going to work so hard to keep a clear and open mind. I’ve taken quite a hiatus from the gym and can definitely feel, and see, the effects of that. I start going back on Tuesday and I really hope that time will help. I’ve also decided to nix fast food from my diet. And having already cut out pop about 2 years ago, I’m going to up my already heavy intake of water. All of this can only do my body some good. And hopefully flush some of the preventable toxins from my body- and with it take the environmental toxins with it.

A good friend told me a few weeks ago that life keeps throwing me all these lemons, and somehow I keep making the sweetest lemonade. I’m so glad that’s how other people see me handling all these situations. I’m so blessed that my family is pulling together and we’re working through this time as a family. I have incredible friends, and as always, my husband is just a constant rock.

Thanks again to all of you for your support of BabyOrBust and our story. Your many emails and letters of encouragement and support mean the world.

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Trip to the Doctor

Friday, July 21st, 2006

Yesterday we went to see Dr. T at the clinic. It’s the first time Shelton has been in since our initial visit. We were primarily there to follow-up on my ovarian cysts and see how they were doing, but also had gone to see Shelton’s urologist an hour before and it was our “where do we go from here” appointment.

All in all, I think it was a great visit. We really felt like we had a chance to sit with Dr. T and ask a lot of questions and get more definitive direction on where we’re headed.

First off, yesterday was my birthday and I tell you there is no greater gift than a trip to the gyno before you’ve had lunch. They say the best gifts come in the smallest packages. (ha!) During my pelvic ultrasound, it appears that my cysts continue to grow, while ever so slightly. He is determined to keep me out of the O.R., which I appreciate. I also discussed the fact that while my periods have been normal my entire life, the past two months I’ve had a 10 day and a 15 day period. What the heck is up with that?! During the ultrasound he found what appears to be a polyp on my uterus and thinks that could possibly be the source of the additional bleeding. He wants me to have one more cycle in August and if it is abnormal at all, I’ll go back and see where we go from there. It sounds like if I’m off then I’ve won a pass straight to the operating room. Luckily, this surgery is covered under our insurance as a gynecological problem.

We also talked to him about our IVF. He told us to sign up for the IVF class that the nurses put on and explains all the details. Ours is scheduled for a Saturday in September. We’ll of course share everything we learn.

I also did the cystic fibrosis test. This is an optional blood test, but one I guess I wanted to have done. We learned that 4% of the US population carries the gene. If I’m a carrier for the gene, then they’ll test Shelton. If I’m not a carrier, then we don’t really need to know about Shelton one way or another. If Shelton and I are both carriers- then we’re left with a really tough question, because there is a greater likelihood we’ll pass on the gene and our child will be born with CF. We’re left to ask if we still want to proceed. My initial thought is that most couples don’t ever have this test and run the risk. I don’t know. Just one more of the really tough questions we’ve been faced with and we’ll have to give it some educated thought and see what we decide. I should have my results next week.

All in all, I think we had a good visit yesterday. We’re in a holding pattern for now until our September class, unless my cyst-tastic body decides to not get any better!

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