Report from the ob/gyn visit today

My appointment went well but I was really upset by the end of it, having to explain about all I've been through. The doctor was very nice though and when he saw that I was getting upset he switched over and started saying lots of consoling, positive things which was what I needed. We talked about a c-section delivery and how he would do that and I learned some about their practice. He was a little confused as to why I was seeing an RE without having fertility treatment but finally I think he got it, just circumstantial that we hadn't yet gotten to any fertility treatments. I feel like Annie in the musical, "I think I'm gonna like it here."

I dropped by my RE's office which is now on the next floor down to say hi the office staff who know me pretty well now. Still feeling upset, I decided that I wasn't ready to go in to the office so I went home and took a nap for an hour and a half (I did get up at 5:30 this morning) and then felt tired and icky after I woke up. I cooked lunch and made some passionflower tea to calm my nerves (good stuff) and realized that I was holding my muscles related to my uterus. I've been feeling crampiness like after my HSG. I think it was the PAP that set it off, probably brought back pain memories as well.

I finally got into work after 2pm. C'est la vie right?

Stuff about Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

[I'm always searching out weird topics so I thought I would share this recent post]

I met the author of the book Eating for IBS once a few years ago and thought she had an interesting perspective on how to manage IBS and other diseases of the bowels using diet. You can visit her site here:

HelpforIBS.com

I don't have this condition but it's totally plausible to me that diet/lifestyle/medications were contributory causes. It isn't a normal, healthy, homeostasis condition. Here are some other links that you might find interesting:

small-bowel bacterial overgrowth(SBBO)

Bacterial Overgrowth Syndrome

Breaking the Vicious Cycle - The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

Cultured Cabbage Juice - Make the Best Lactobacteria

I've also found reference to birth control pills sometimes being a factor -- making the condition worse or better, which seems to indicate a hormonal contribution as well. Knowing that progesterone relaxes smooth muscle tissue and changes the way our bodies deal with blood sugar levels, it isn't so far fetched that hormones coud affect all aspect of our system.

Crohn's Disease and UC came up while I was searching for information on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as well. Do a search for more information though, the terms "crohn's disease chronic fatigue" turned up a bunch of interesting results.

Gyn Appt

I posted a couple places today about looking for a good Seattle ob/gyn and someone on Babycenter's fibroid board gave me her docs name. I called over there to speak with them and let them know my story: 35, TTC, 2 m/cs, fibroid surgery, RE, etc. and also about how lame my other ob/gyn's office was and asked if they could do better. They had an opening tomorrow so I set up an appointment for a pelvic exam -- with a doc whose name had been given to me by a friend a while back -- she switched her ob in the 8th month of her pg to this guy. I'm a bit nervous as I hate having to deal with allopathic doctors and their myopic view of medicine, but I still keep hope that he's going to be nice to work with.

I'll have to go through the medical records I have at home tonight and bring along copies with me to the appointment. Oh and they told me not to insert anything vaginally for 48 hours prior to the appointment. I mentioned the prog supps and the person on the phone said not to use them. I'm mid LP though. What should I do? Use one tonight and not in the AM? It would be dissolved by then. It probably has to do with the PAP though I doubt it will interfere in a measurable way -- who knows.

I have checked my temp during the night as my partner keeps coming to bed after 1am (grumble) and waking me up. I haven't yet had a sustained high temp overnight. When I was pg the first time my temp was 98.6 in the middle of the night as well as when I woke up. I also don't have an itchy forearm which happened both times I was pg. I tested yesterday with my last FM stick and it just showed a little LH as it did last cycle around this time. The curiosity got the best of me this AM and I used one FRE (I so want to be one of those gals who goes in for a beta on CD9 and has a raging great result) and it came back negative as anything. It's still early though and the cycle I got pg last I tested negative on CD9 and ended up getting a BFP on CD13 so perhaps there's hope yet.

It could have been me

Last night I went to a community BBQ and brought along my SIL and my baby niece and nephew. I watched the baby while my SIL followed round her son as he played on the playground equipment at the park we were at. There were lots of people there I know from around the neighborhood, due to my community activism. Almost all of them came over to ask me if my niece was mine.

Yes, I don't see these people all of the time, mostly only in email and at occasional meetings. Yes, I was holding a baby with dark hair like mine. But really folks, an 8 month old infant doesn't come out of thin air and most of them have seen me within the past year when I would have looked pregnant. Many of them knew I had abdominal surgery last year as well, though not what kind of surgery and I suppose that still didn't exclude me from having a kid now.

So, it was a mixed thing. A little fantasy about what it would be like if I had a baby, this baby that I held that was born the same week as my first [a] was due. There was also the stupidity of it all, the frustration as well. Of course I want a baby, no this isn't my baby but it could have been -- at least in an alternate reality. I guess I should be thankful that no one asks why I don't have children yet. As if there is any easy answer to that question, because even I don't know why we don't have children now.

(P.S. I'm at 10dpo and no sign of anything vaguely pregant with me yet. Two things I'm looking for are an elevated basel temp in the middle of the night and an itchy right forearm -- my symptoms that are particular to when I've been pg)

Types of Iron

There are two kinds of iron, heme (heem) and non-heme. Heme is found in animal sources of food (red meat, liver, clams, salmon, eggs, etc.) and non-heme is found in vegetables (spinach, raisins, kidney beans, lentils etc.) Heme iron is easier for your body to absorb, though in what I've read your body can absorb more non-heme iron in the presence of heme iron.

So you want to have some spinach with your lamb curry and then you'll have your bases covered. As an anemic gal trying to build her iron stores I've been eating like that (by the way indian and ethiopian are great ways to get good iron in your diet from plant and animal sources) and taking my prenatals plus my chewable iron as well.