Hormone Hope

So, it's been a while since I last posted. Like 2 months. I guess inspiration just hasn't hit me recently. However, I started this blog as a way to have a reminder of the journey we've been on TTC a baby...so I feel as if I should keep up with the updates.

Dr. Delightful has our problem narrowed down to less than stellar hormone levels; specifically progesterone and estrodial. I've gradually been adding new drugs to my regular diet of HCG in the name of Clomid and awesome estrogen patches. Now, mind you, my momma has been wearing an estrogen patch for the past number of years to combat menopause symptoms. So you can imagine how delighted I was to find out that not only do I need these but also that my mom is using the exact same drug (down to the brand name, mind you) but in a lower dosage. Awesome.

However! Taking all these drugs does cause some side effects. Not as many as I would expect, thankfully, but side effects nonetheless. The most prevalent is the hot flashes caused by the Clomid. Now, I am a cold natured person by default and can normally be found bundled up in my fuzzy pink bathrobe, slippers, and blanket when I'm at home. (I've prefaced this to give impact ;) ) I have actually found myself rolling down the window in my car in 14 degree weather to alleviate the effect of these bad boys! Thankfully they only last about 5-7 minutes...but boy, oh, boy are they wicked!

Another potential side-effect is some, ahem, increased emotions. I say potential since I am a very emotional person by nature...I'm not sure if this can fully be attributed to the wacky hormone levels. I just tend to get worked up very easily and can't really see a light at the end that will make me better...and then all of a sudden I'm back to normal. Awesome.

Last cycle I told myself that the primary goal was to increase both hormone levels, but primarily the estrodial since that was the one with the least amount of change. This was the first time I didn't have the primary goal to be to achieve pregnancy because, let's face it...until these hormones are normal it just isn't going to happen. You can imagine the delight and excitement I felt when I got a call from Cathleen (Dr. Delightful's nurse) that not only was my progesterone 'good' but that my estrodial had finally changed from a 4 to 11.9. We shall keep praying that my levels stay around the normal range and that a pregnancy is in our near future.