The PCOS Diaries #6

I apologize for not updating this portion of my blog in awhile - a lot of stuff has happened since January, and for several months there I had no energy at all (if you read my WIPpet posts, you know why by now ;) )

A New Year, A New Round...

Between the holidays, work, and our vacation, it's been a very busy couple of weeks. So busy that I just gave up on posting any WIPpets, or anything else really. 

Now the holiday's are over, work has calmed down a bit, and we're back from our vacation (though we didn't want to leave...) It's a new year, and a new round of ROW 80, so it's time for some new goals!

This round I want to:

• Write either 100 or 1000 words a day. 100 if I'm jotting them down in a notebook, 1000 if I'm using a computer. 
• Keep plugging away at The Undying Ones and The Descendants
• Try to figure out what to do about the serial. 
• Add more stuff to the Etsy store

In addition to that I also want to get healthy. I don't plan on dieting, but I do plan on eating better. Also, a Planet Fitness is supposed to be opening up near us soon, so I plan on signing up as soon as I can and working out more. In addition to that, I want to get my health issues resolved. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and fibroids last May, but the first doctor I saw wouldn't help. My new doctor is amazing though, and we've already started the process of getting these two issues taken care of. 

And now on to the fun stuff! WIPpet Wednesday!

WIPpet Wednesday is run by KL Schwengel. To participate, just share a portion of what you are working on that some how relates to the date and add it to the linkie thing below. For example, since today is 1/8/14, I'll be sharing 8 sentences from The Undying Ones. This is from a flashback from a character that may or may not have been introduced in previous snippets. 

Her wish to die was not to be: she woke to a room bathed in firelight, still struggling to breath and burning up with fever.

Her room was strangely quiet for once. She looked around with bleary eyes, expecting someone to be sitting with her, but no priests or physicians or maids lurked in the shadows and the incense that had irritated her so much was finally gone. Had they fallen victim to the plague as well? No, there were still people nearby; she could hear boots ringing on the stone courtyard outside her window and hear voices speaking on the other side of her door.

“We found her hiding in the old miller’s house. She tried to make a run for it.” A man said, and there was a thump as something was tossed or fell to the ground.

To see more ROW 80 updates, go here. 

To see more WIPpet Wednesdays, go here. 

And be sure to check back here later this week for pictures (and possibly some video!) from our vacation to Washington!!!

The PCOS Diaries #5

I meant to write this earlier, but things have been so crazy around here that I haven't had a chance to do so until now.

The PCOS Diaries #3

The quest to have a baby continues...

The PCOS Diaries #2

I went in yesterday for my meeting with the Specialist concerning the ultrasound results.

Previously, when I had called to get my ultrasound results from the OBGYN, she had told me that the specialist and I would discuss if I needed surgery or not, and that I would probably be put on some medication (most likely metformin) to treat my PCOS. She also mentioned that they might put me on Clomid to help with the infertility.

While the thought of surgery was scary, I had done my research and knew that, depending on where the fibroids were, the surgery probably wouldn't be that bad. Also, while Metformin is normally used to treat diabetics, it's common for it to be prescribed to treat PCOS, and, aside from a few side effects which my friends who take it warned me about, it's really not that bad.

The Clomid, if prescribed, would be really interesting. Because it makes both ovaries ovulate at the same time, there's a higher chance of having twins. Twins happen to run in my family and in my husbands family, so taking the Clomid would bump up our odds of having twins even more than normal.

Armed with this knowledge, I walked into the appointment with the Specialist feeling hopeful that everything would be resolved.

I walked out feeling crushed.

The specialist was rude and condescending and I got the impression that she didn't care and didn't want to help me at all. .

She refused to do surgery on the fibroids. Even though they were in a spot where I could get the less invasive surgery, she said that due to their size, she wouldn't be able to do the surgery at all. It's not that I wanted surgery - who does really? - but I knew that the size of the fibroids could make it hard for an embryo to implant in the uterus, and could cause miscarriages later on.

She also refused to diagnose me with PCOS even though the ultrasound showed, very clearly, that I had poly cystic ovaries. She stated that since I had a regular cycle, I was fine. The thing is though, you can have regular cycles and have PCOS. Just like you can have normal skin and hair and be thin and have PCOS. The only sure fire way to tell if someone has it is to test them.

Once I explained that it did run in my family, along with fibroids, endometriosis, and thyroid issues, she seemed a little more willing to admit that, yes, there might be a problem. However, she couldn't prescribe anything to treat it because 'Specialists don't write prescriptions - only GPs do.'

Then, to add insult to injury, I had to suffer through another pap smear for the second time in as many months (the first one came back clean, and when I mentioned that she told me she was starting over from the beginning with me... can we say, huh?) and told to loose weight.  

On the upside, she did schedule me to get blood work later this month. One test to confirm that I am ovulating, and another is to check my thyroid and blood sugar levels (which really needed to be done know that I know my family history).

Later I told my husband and our friends what had happened. They were all shocked and insisted that I get a second opinion- especially about the prescription for Metformin, because, if left untreated, PCOS can cause some serious medical issues later in life. Currently we are trying to find a better doctor, but it's hard to find one who has good reviews, is up to date, and is in our insurance network. 

Someday we'll get this all figured out...

The PCOS Diaries #1

The husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for awhile now to no avail. We tried changing our diet, working out more, charting my fertility using the basal thermometer, and all that other fun stuff. Three months went by, then six, then a year, then a year and a half, without any sign of a baby.

I finally decided to break down and go to a doctor.