Crazy pain and another blood draw

It's days like today when I am so thankful I don't work.

I woke up this morning, early, in pain. My whole body ached. I tried to go back to sleep for several hours, and was able to for the most part, but every time I woke up everything hurt. My entire back hurt, from my shoulders down to my lower back, and both my legs were in excruciating pain. My legs aching are usually a sign of a new cycle about to begin, but this time it has been much worse. And they've hurt like this, just not as bad, throughout this entire cycle. Always when I wake up.

So after trying to go back to sleep a few times, I realized it's not going to get better and lying in bed is only prolonging the agony. So I got out of bed and made it to the couch, where I quickly laid back down.

Praise God I don't have a job.

It always goes away after like half an hour. I feel much better now, just kind of out of it and dizzy when I stand up.

I'd love to know what exactly causes it. Like I said, the leg pain happens every month but not throughout the entire cycle like this and not this bad. Even last month, my first month on Tamoxifen, it wasn't this bad. I'm definitely going to tell my doctor at my next appointment.

Speaking of my doctor, I decided to call yesterday and request a peak+9 and peak+11 blood draw. I was talking with Lifehopes and she was surprised to hear I've never had that done, despite the fact that a month-long saliva test last spring showed that my progesterone dropped too quickly at the end of my luteal phase.

I called and he wasn't in, so I politely urged the nurse to see if another doctor or nurse practitioner could write it for me and fax it to my lab. She said she'd give it a try. About an hour later she called to say she'd done it. I was so excited...finally something seemed to work out easily! So I called the lab to see if they'd received the fax and they hadn't. I waited an hour. Still no fax. I asked the woman at the lab for the fax number there, and quickly realized the fax number on their website, the one I'd given my doctor's office, was wrong. I called back the office back and left a message (you always have to leave a message) with the correct number. I waited half an hour and called the lab. Still no fax. I waited another hour and called again. Still no fax.

The lab closed at four, and by this time it was after three. I was panicking. I even went into my "why can't anything be easy?" mode. I started to cry. Despite the fact that I really don't like to annoy people, I called the office back and left a second message. I waited ten minutes. Still no fax at the lab. Another ten minutes passed and it was 3:35. I called, and finally...it was there!

I had my peak+9 blood drawn, thanks be to God! And then, as I was leaving, I caught a glimpse of the fax. It said 15:01. So it looks like someone at the lab didn't see it for at least 30 minutes and my second message at my doctor's office was unnecessary. Now I really hope they're not too annoyed with me! I guess I need to remember that no one knows who I am and probably forgot about it a long time ago.

The bad news is that the order was only for peak+9, so I might have to go through everything again tomorrow. The nurse said she wanted my doctor to write the peak+11 when he came back, since it wasn't emergency to have it written yesterday. I'm hoping it all works out and they call me today or tomorrow saying they faxed it over.

So with all that going on yesterday, I didn't mention anything to the nurse about testing for the clotting disorder. I think what I'm going to do is wait for my blood test results, at least the ones from Saturday, and then set up an appointment. If I can get an appointment in the next couple of weeks, I'll wait and ask in person. But if it's like two months until I can get in, I'll ask over the phone.

Before I call, I need to give myself a pep talk. I need to tell myself that I can do this. They deal with pushy patients every day. It is not out of the ordinary for me to ask for a test. My doctor will not be offended. He is a great, prayerful person who wants to work with me on my treatment. He's the best doctor I've ever had and listens to all my questions and concerns. There is nothing to be afraid of.

Am I weird? Is it just second nature for everyone else to do what seems impossible to me? I just get so nervous, and for no apparent reason. And it has nothing to do with my doctor or his staff. It's just my hang up. I just hate the thought of being pushy or annoying to someone else. I hate the thought that, even for a second, my doctor might think that I think I know more than him.

Okay, now that you all think I'm crazy...

I'm going to go rest now. And maybe, just maybe, I'll even get my results back today from my peak+7 I had done on Saturday. If I do, I'll post them as soon as I get them!

*Update*

So my mom, who's a nurse, says leg pain can be due to a ton of things. She has often experienced leg pain associated with her cycle, she said, and also before she gets sick. She thinks the pain I described is nerve-related, rather than something to do with circulation. She said if it was circulatory, I'd feel some numbness, especially in my extremities, but I never do. My legs just ache, and it's mostly from my knees, up. She said it could be due to something moving or expanding at different times of my cycle, like my uterus, putting pressure on my nerves. I like this explanation because it's not anything seriously wrong with me.