Monday, April 20, 2009

Apparently it's obvious that I'm infertile

So I have another little infertility-related interaction I had at the very beginning of my vacation. We were still in Richmond at this point and my sister and I were getting pedicures next to each other when the woman massaging my sister's legs asks me if I'm married. I say yes, and then she looks right at me and says, "You have no babies, I can tell." What?? Does it say so on my forehead now? Is it that obvious? When I asked her how she knew, she said, "your shape." Then she went on to say that a few months after her baby was born her husband asked if she could return her post-baby body and get her old one back. She laughed that it was, at that point, too early for him to make that joke. I'd say!

I guess the silver lining in this is I'd probably weigh a lot more if I was popping out kids. But, let's be honest, that means nothing to me. Sure, I have my "shape" (although it's still not good enough to walk around in a bikini, but I'm more than happy to wear my little swimsuit skirt bottom.. thanks, Lan.d's End!), but I'd rather have babies. And the only reason I am thinner now is, ironically, because of infertility and the diet I was forced to start. Believe me, I remember that every time I take a bite of no-sugar-added ice cream.

And like I talked about in my last post, this woman didn't mean anything by it. She thought she was complementing me!

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Thanks for all your supportive comments on my last post. It really stopped bothering me after that first day. I think my progesterone started to rise and my mood started improving, along with my ability to handle things like that situation.

Today I'm going to have my peak +7 blood draw for progesterone and estradiol. Last night I think I had some spotting, but now I'm wondering if I dreamed it. I hate when that happens! I definitely charted it because it's there in black and white (and red sticker), but I had been sleeping on the couch before I went to bed, so I'm not sure how good my observation skills were and the memory of it is a bit foggy now. Although I think being out of it might cause me to miss seeing the spotting, not see it when it's not there, right?

So this is what I think happened - earlier in the night I saw some very, very, very slight discoloration, like off white or very light tan. To someone who isn't looking for it, it would have seemed like nothing, but for those of us who are forced to make an observation every time we're in the bathroom, we know even the slightest change. Then, a few hours later, before I went to bed, I saw some darker tan/pink spotting. Not like one spot or drop, but all-over discoloration like I usually see right before I start a new cycle (those of you who chart will get what I mean, while those of you who don't are probably just grossed out by now).

Sorry to focus so much on this, but I haven't spotted in the middle of my luteal phase for quite some time now. Actually, the last time it happened was on Christmas day and before that, September. I liked not feeling compelled to google "implantation bleeding" for a while! I always feel silly as I do it, and rightfully so, but some terrible force makes me type the words.

Of course, it has never been implantation spotting in the past and I am confident it isn't now. When it happened before, my doctor told me it was fine and normal, "my body getting back on track." But now I ovulate on day 14 or 15 and have 13 or 14 day luteal phases, so isn't my body back on track by now? Well, I haven't gotten pregnant, so clearly that answers my question.

14 comments:

  1. Hmmm... did you ever get the clotting factor b/w done? Forgive me, I can't remember... I'm guessing no since I think I would remember if you had(?)
    Anyway, if you DO have a clotting factor, it very well could be that you are not implanting properly, and this COULD be implantation spotting you're seeing!! If I were you, I'd just start popping a baby aspirin a day until you get the b/w, since it doesn't hurt anything anyway.

    I know what you mean, though. Each time I have spotting in the LP I always start to "wonder," too. Then I get mad at myself for entertaining the idea, and mad at my body for spotting when it shouldn't be! Baaah! Don't even get me started on my current cycle... I treated day 1 as the first day of spotting (since I never have 3 or more days), and it STILL hasn't gotten to moderate, and in the meantime I began all my cyclical meds. Grrrr :(

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  2. The bleeding could be coming from your cervix, if it is bumped or stressed, like during sex. It can release a tiny bit of blood, that can then appear blood tinged (either watery brown or light tan/pink). At certain points in the cycle, the cervix is sensitive enough to bleed just from a light touch (like a cervix check), OR from exercise, lifting etc.

    Or it could be a million other things, like implantation bleeding ;-)

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  3. Why is it that pedicure ladies always have to ask if a woman has children...or that subject in general. I haven't been one time that this is our main topic of discussion. I am sorry she said that to you...I realize we would sacrifice the shape of our bodies for any number of children. So that must of been painful to hear.
    ((((hug))))

    I wonder what your spotting during LP means. Maybe implantaion spotting :) Well, you never know! I agree with TCIE, take some baby asprin in case. PPVI says it can't hurt if that means anything. Why can't cycles stay like text book charts...that would be nice.
    Many prayers,
    ~Amber

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  4. You know, I have the opposite complaint...I have friends with two, three, four, and five kids who are a size four with no hips. I, on the other hand, USED to be a size four, and have slowly edged up over the past few years...but almost all the growth has been in my tummy and my hips (I wear substantially different sizes on the top and the bottom. Still no chest!). So I LOOK like I've had a couple of kids and done poorly with the post-pregnancy diet, while my girlfriends with hordes of children bounce around with the bodies of 15yos. It IRRITATES me.

    But I do enjoy ice cream with all the sugar...possibly there is a connection here :)

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  5. I think that if you have the MTHFR baby asprin won't hurt, but it won't help one either! ;)

    Since my DH has it I am doped up on a vitamin regime. If I had it I think the treatment plan would be different. I can't remember the drugs he was talking about.

    I emailed you the price of the test with my crappy insurance. So I don't think you have anything to worry about. Now don't get me wrong, we haven't been billed for my total MTHFR blood panel. Scary, I don't even want to know.

    I can't keep track of the people I talk to and what I post..But I am making aprons to sell. I have been making them on the side and selling them and people keep asking for a website. Either they are nosey or they are interested. So I called them Cookin' Naked! ;) Because they are so cute you want to cook naked.

    Anyway, my machine is set up for Monday night tv! Cutting table in the middle of my very small living room, next to the very big couch. Sew is ready to go!

    Apparently thread was stuck somewhere in the assy? I'm not joking, I think that is what the work order said! :)

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  6. Oh and 500mg of slow release B6 gives this woman migraines. So I take 215mg of B6 a day. Nevermind, I just started that today. :) I forgot that I was supposed to be taking that in addition too the foltab and the list of other drugs. But totally not as much as the other girls are taking. So I'm not complaining! ;)

    I would never forget to take progesterone! NEVER! EVER! I crave it monthly! :)

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  7. i don't know what it is about those pedicure girls! i blogged last year that my aethetician (sp??) told me all about her endo and how she wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant, but she did. yay! good for you! i'm still infertile lady! but this is before my endo diagnosis, but still!

    hmmm, spotting in your LP. i agree with the others, it could be from your cervix getting bumped, low progesterone or implantation spotting. i dunno though...

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  8. Even though there are people who obviously don't mean to bother us by their comments, sometimes it still hurts. Sometimes it feels like there are reminders everywhere. Like you can't even get a pedicure and relax without being reminded of it. It has been hard on me latley with all the reminders around me. I wanted so bad to have a child on Easter, when all the mommies where taking their children to church and letting them hunt easter eggs. Be Strong, don't give up, keep your faith and trust in the Lord. Let Him be that anchor in your life that holds you steady.

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  9. have you read the stories about fertility and eating ice cream? that full fat dairy IS good for you?

    i'd give up anything with artificial sweeteners in it - think about it, how bad that stuff is

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  10. please don't feel bad about the pedi woman...i know lots of women like this and their lives are very ''earthy'' - they think about this stuff a lot and are very loving...she probably wishes she had her husband's admiration a bit more, and misses her freer days - and you're very young!

    remember, they don't usually make much money!

    oh and i laugh (bitterly!) at the comment below...i too am related to a ton of size 2 - size 8 or 10 women with many children each....and here i am, struggling with endo, pcos and getting any kind of exercise...this itself is depressing....

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  11. i just read your previous post...i have to tell you, i have trouble helping people these days because i have gotten some rough stuff back...that was really bad what that guy said, but you of course know he must feel really bad about his life to write such a thing...

    it is also different for men (who sometimes take great pride in getting women pregnant, and don't think much about the child) and the woman who wants to carry a child....

    i hope you feel better, and even possibly say a prayer for this person, because he must be rough on his 'family'...be grateful for your kind husband, who perhaps makes this person jealous...

    something gets in peoples' heads some times, and they say terrible things...it isn't personal in a sense, although it feels terrible...

    i've found myself oversharing with the endo stories, and been kind of sorry that i did!

    people can be weird! it's just terrible when they hurt nice people!

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  12. artificial sweeteners are excitotoxins, i think info is listed here at endo101.com

    here are some sites for ice cream and fertility!

    Ice cream good for fertility, study suggests - Pregnancy- msnbc.comFeb 27, 2007 ... A diet rich in ice cream and other high-fat dairy foods may lower the risk of one type of infertility, a study suggests.
    www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17368431/ - 47k - Cached - Similar pages

    Can Ice Cream Boost Fertility?Feb 28, 2007 ... Unexpected new data link low-fat dairy foods to infertility and high-fat dairy foods to better chances of getting pregnant.
    www.webmd.com/baby/news/20070228/can-ice-cream-boost-infertility - 119k - Cached - Similar pages

    Want To Get Pregnant? Eat Ice CreamDrinking whole fat milk and eating ice cream appears to be better for women ... "Clarifying the role of dairy foods intake on fertility is particularly ...
    www.scientificblogging.com/news/want_to_get_pregnant_eat_ice_cream - 61k - Cached - Similar pages

    Newsmax.com - Eating Ice Cream May Increase FertilityApr 21, 2008 ... Drinking whole fat milk and eating ice cream appears to be better for women trying to become pregnant than a diet consisting of low-fat ...
    www.newsmax.com/health/ice_cream_fertility/2008/04/21/89640.html - 217k - Cached - Similar pages

    Ice Cream for Fertility! - The Boston GlobeDec 16, 2007 ... One in eight couples today has trouble conceiving, according to Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard ...
    www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2007/12/16/ice_cream_for_fertility/ - Similar pages

    Trouble Getting Pregnant? Improve Fertility with Butter & Ice ...For the love of cheese. And bacon. And butter. And raw milk. And all those other things we’re not supposed to eat.
    www.cheeseslave.com/2009/02/24/trouble-getting-pregnant-improve-fertility-with-butter-ice-cream/ - 74k - Cached - Similar pages

    Rockin' the Schoolhouse: Can ice cream fight infertility?Can ice cream fight infertility? No doubt you ask yourself this question often. If it does, when my clock starts ticking, or I start hallucinating dancing ...
    rockintheschoolhouse.blogspot.com/2008/09/can-ice-cream-fight-infertility.html - 74k -

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  13. Prayers for you.
    Hi, my name is RAnn and I am the author of This, That and the Other Thing at http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com. This is an invitation to you to participate in Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. This will be a weekly meme in which bloggers can highlight posts somehow relating to Catholicism and invite others to visit their blogs. For more information, check out this week's post. http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/2009/04/sunday-snippets-catholic-carnival.html

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  14. deedee - Thanks for the info! Unfortunately, real sugar does way more harm than good to my body, since I have insulin resistance. So that's more of an enemy to me right now than the artificial stuff. I sure wish I could have real sugar and justify fattening ice cream, but those days are over :) Maybe some other bloggers who don't have PCOS or IR can use that info (although don't they say that dairy is bad for endo too? I don't even want to think about that! There'd be nothing left to eat!).

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