Changes to the blog, not me personally :o)
Fighting for Fertility officially has a twitter! You can find us by the email: f4ftweets@fighting4fertility.org.in or by the name @Fight4Fertility
Also, we each have individual emails that you can contact us by if you have questions::
Shannon - PCOS, inexpensive options, vitamins:
shannonw@fighting4fertility.org.in
Steph aka Mrs. Red - IVF success, clomid:
stephaniet@fighting4fertility.org.in
Ashley - IVF success, mom of twins:
ashleyh@fighting4fertility.org.in
Molly - PCOS:
mollyk@fighting4fertility.org.in
Sheila - vitamins, undiagnosed:
sheilah@fighting4fertility.org.in
Jessica - PCOS, vitamins:
jessicad@fighting4fertility.org.in
Leah - PCOS, fibromyalgia, fostering, adoption:
leahb@fighting4fertility.org.in
Don't forget! You can also find us on Facebook!
Showing posts with label Leah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leah. Show all posts
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Baby Rabies
I have them and I have them bad. Seems like everyone I know is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or just had a baby. At least I have next year to look forward to trying again. And I have lots of stuff to try to distract me. I'm still working on my weight loss journey and next September, I will be doing the 3 day, 60 mile walk for breast cancer. I also have been knitting a ton.
Anyway, here is my weight loss pics so far:
Before:
And this is now:
Anyway, here is my weight loss pics so far:
Before:
And this is now:
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
This too shall pass......
That quote about sums it up for me. As does this: Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if only wonderful things have happened to you - Mary Tyler Moore.
So what causes me to use these quotes?
Well, where to start....
First off, hubby has bipolar disorder, type II. He is usually well controlled but as he has gotten older, he has had more issues with agoraphobia. Because of this, he lost his job last year. He spiraled into a depression and became suicidal. As a result, I had to hospitalize him recently and that is when I found out he had been abusing alcohol and drugs. He is now 4 weeks into recovery and 4 weeks sober (and he is home, but attending an intensive outpatient hospitalization program that focuses on recovery). This has been really rough but we are both coming to terms with it. I'm in therapy for myself to learn how to create and stick to healthy boundaries and we attend a family session at his program on Saturdays.
I've also been dealing with some health issues. I mentioned before that I had fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is an evil disease, but I am fighting that b*tch with all I have. I recently got put on gabapentin (brand name: Neurontin) to help. Gabapentin and pregabalin were originally approved to treat certain types of epilepsy and nerve pain. Both drugs work by limiting the release of pain-communicating chemicals by nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Fibromyalgia is now considered a disorder of the central nervous system and it can be rough. The gabapentin is really helping, though. I also managed to come down with West Nile Fever, the not so serious cousin of West Nile Virus. It basically means that I had 2 weeks of the worst flu I've ever had without the congestion/respiratory issues. And the fever that I ran from that caused me to get dehydrated and I managed to get a bi-lateral kidney infection. I'm on the mend right now, though I tire very easily, but I'm hopeful.
As for the cycling and what not, well, the actual trying is on hold. I am still using my herbs to regulate my cycle (so far it is working....I'm down to a 32 day cycle with regular ovulation every month) but we discussed waiting to really try until hubby has been sober for 1 year....so 48 more weeks.
I've also decided to do the 3 Day Walk for the Cure in Seattle next September. I am going to be walking with one of my best friends and I will be doing it in memory of my mom (who died from metastasized breast cancer) and in honor of the Figueroa women (my dad's side, where breast cancer runs in the family). I am also doing it to prove to myself that I can, to prove that though I may have fibromyalgia, it doesn't have me, and to do something extraordinary.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Curveballs
Life likes to throw curveballs at you regularly.
I'm finally ovulating regularly and have a regular (albeit longer than average) cycle and we are going to have to wait to actually try for awhile. There are things going on beyond my control. I can't really talk about it but suffice to say that my hubby isn't in a good place.
Meanwhile, I will continue to work out and eat healthfully and pray. Not much else I can do.
I'm finally ovulating regularly and have a regular (albeit longer than average) cycle and we are going to have to wait to actually try for awhile. There are things going on beyond my control. I can't really talk about it but suffice to say that my hubby isn't in a good place.
Meanwhile, I will continue to work out and eat healthfully and pray. Not much else I can do.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Guess who's back?
Hi again everyone! I'm sorry I have been MIA for so long. I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia and started a weight loss journey. So far, we are trying to treat the fibro naturally and I have lost 50 pounds since January of this year.
The hubby and I have decided to start trying naturally and on payday (tomorrow!!!) I will be stocking up on several herbs.
MACA - I will be starting at 500mg three times per day (1500mg per day) and work up to 3000mg if I need to.
Vitex - 1000mg to 2000mg daily from the end of AF to the start of AF.
Rhodiola Rosea - 100 mg 2 times ber day for the first 2 weeks of the cycle or from day 1 to ovulation (I plan on doing it the first two weeks of my cycle). Rhodiola, like Vitex and Maca, is an adoptogen and has been shown to be useful in treating infertility and menstrual irregularities.
Tribulus - 300 to 400 mg from days 5 to 14 of the cycle (You want to find tribulus with at least 40% furostanol saponins). Tribulus also shows benefits in treating infertitliy, especially in women with PCOS.
I will be taking those in addition to the other stuff I already take, so we'll see how it goes.
I also plan to keep working on the weight loss and keeping up the exercise. And I plan to write here once a week.
The hubby and I have decided to start trying naturally and on payday (tomorrow!!!) I will be stocking up on several herbs.
MACA - I will be starting at 500mg three times per day (1500mg per day) and work up to 3000mg if I need to.
Vitex - 1000mg to 2000mg daily from the end of AF to the start of AF.
Rhodiola Rosea - 100 mg 2 times ber day for the first 2 weeks of the cycle or from day 1 to ovulation (I plan on doing it the first two weeks of my cycle). Rhodiola, like Vitex and Maca, is an adoptogen and has been shown to be useful in treating infertility and menstrual irregularities.
Tribulus - 300 to 400 mg from days 5 to 14 of the cycle (You want to find tribulus with at least 40% furostanol saponins). Tribulus also shows benefits in treating infertitliy, especially in women with PCOS.
I will be taking those in addition to the other stuff I already take, so we'll see how it goes.
I also plan to keep working on the weight loss and keeping up the exercise. And I plan to write here once a week.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Question #1
1.How did you and your partner decide when you were ready to start trying to conceive?
Shannon: The day was April 27, 2008. Hubs younger brother was still living with us at the duplex. Hubs and I had been arguing a lot (mainly about BIL) and finally had a sit down. Throw the process we agreed that BIL would move back to his dad's at the end of the school year. In trying to get our future goals on track with each other we both decided that we wanted to start a family....
Mrs Red: Firstly, we had been bf/gf since april 2002. So in February 2006 when we got engaged, we were out of town when it happened so when we were on our way home. We were talking about wedding dates, I was looking at the calendar for 2007 and was all 'well our anniversary falls on this day and...." he cuts me off and says "wow isn't that soon?" so I was like ".... Ok so the next year?" and he goes I don't want to wait til next year! I was like waaaaaat? He wanted to get married before the end of the year because he said he wanted to start a family with me already! :-D so we decided before we were married to start ttc as soon as we left for our honeymoon lol. And yes, we waited... Unfortunately we didn't know it was going to take this long....
-Steph
Ashley:
Well while my husband and I were dating we knew we both wanted kids soon. We got engaged in January 2010 and married in April 2010. Two months before we got married we had a serious talk about when we really wanted to start trying. I just couldn't believe how real it felt, because I have been looking forward to this moment for my whole life...I was a little nervous and told him I thought we could wait until we were married about 6 months but my husband convinced me that we were both ready and a little nervous and that wouldn't go away in six months. He said we should just finished with the pack of birth control pills the month before our wedding and start right away. I agreed and thought it may take us a few months to get pregnant anyhow. So we both agreed we would see how things go the first 6 months and then start trying hard core. So I finished my pack of pills 2 weeks before our wedding....and I was excited I would be ovulating on our wedding weekend or during our honeymoon. However, one month after we were married I suspected I had PCOS. I am a sonographer for work and deal with the menstrual cycle and disorders of it every day, apparently I couldn't separate work and my personal life. I "self-diagnosed" myself and saw a doctor for it two months after we were married which confirmed the diagnosis. I ovulated the next month, but didn't ovulate for 13 months following that! I wasn't responding to any meds our whole first year of infertility. I certainly don't regret starting to try right away....I'm really glad we started when we did, because almost 2 years later we still aren't pregnant.
Leah
Chris and I first met when I was 23 and he was 29. We decided we wanted to try for a family, so I went off of birth control in September 2006 and had my first cycle off of birth control in October 2006. We started trying and trying, even though my periods were getting farther and farther apart and we got married in February 2007. We went to an RE, I was diagnosed with PCOS and did cycles with Clomid. I got pregnant once, but lost it at 5 weeks. That was the hardest thing, I think. Then, other medical issues came up and life just kind of put us in a tailspin. I guess, now, it makes it 5 years of trying? We are going back to the RE this summer.
Shannon: The day was April 27, 2008. Hubs younger brother was still living with us at the duplex. Hubs and I had been arguing a lot (mainly about BIL) and finally had a sit down. Throw the process we agreed that BIL would move back to his dad's at the end of the school year. In trying to get our future goals on track with each other we both decided that we wanted to start a family....
Mrs Red: Firstly, we had been bf/gf since april 2002. So in February 2006 when we got engaged, we were out of town when it happened so when we were on our way home. We were talking about wedding dates, I was looking at the calendar for 2007 and was all 'well our anniversary falls on this day and...." he cuts me off and says "wow isn't that soon?" so I was like ".... Ok so the next year?" and he goes I don't want to wait til next year! I was like waaaaaat? He wanted to get married before the end of the year because he said he wanted to start a family with me already! :-D so we decided before we were married to start ttc as soon as we left for our honeymoon lol. And yes, we waited... Unfortunately we didn't know it was going to take this long....
-Steph
Ashley:
Well while my husband and I were dating we knew we both wanted kids soon. We got engaged in January 2010 and married in April 2010. Two months before we got married we had a serious talk about when we really wanted to start trying. I just couldn't believe how real it felt, because I have been looking forward to this moment for my whole life...I was a little nervous and told him I thought we could wait until we were married about 6 months but my husband convinced me that we were both ready and a little nervous and that wouldn't go away in six months. He said we should just finished with the pack of birth control pills the month before our wedding and start right away. I agreed and thought it may take us a few months to get pregnant anyhow. So we both agreed we would see how things go the first 6 months and then start trying hard core. So I finished my pack of pills 2 weeks before our wedding....and I was excited I would be ovulating on our wedding weekend or during our honeymoon. However, one month after we were married I suspected I had PCOS. I am a sonographer for work and deal with the menstrual cycle and disorders of it every day, apparently I couldn't separate work and my personal life. I "self-diagnosed" myself and saw a doctor for it two months after we were married which confirmed the diagnosis. I ovulated the next month, but didn't ovulate for 13 months following that! I wasn't responding to any meds our whole first year of infertility. I certainly don't regret starting to try right away....I'm really glad we started when we did, because almost 2 years later we still aren't pregnant.
Leah
Chris and I first met when I was 23 and he was 29. We decided we wanted to try for a family, so I went off of birth control in September 2006 and had my first cycle off of birth control in October 2006. We started trying and trying, even though my periods were getting farther and farther apart and we got married in February 2007. We went to an RE, I was diagnosed with PCOS and did cycles with Clomid. I got pregnant once, but lost it at 5 weeks. That was the hardest thing, I think. Then, other medical issues came up and life just kind of put us in a tailspin. I guess, now, it makes it 5 years of trying? We are going back to the RE this summer.
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