Lemons or something

A very curious thing happened this cycle.

I had no TEBB. (brown bleeding at the end of the period)

None.

This has only happened twice before:  1) the cycle after I finished the IV antibiotics two years ago and 2) the cycle after finishing the ampicillin last August. We've been continuing the antibiotics each cycle from CD1-CD10 in the hopes of keeping it away, but the TEBB reappeared and has been increasing little by little.

In August there was jumping up and down and dancing in the living room and a strong desire to scream out loud out of excitement. (I may have limited it to a small squeal.) :) This time, I'm mostly just scratching my head trying to figure out what made the TEBB go away and staring at my chart in disbelief. Don't get me wrong—I'm very happy to have a pretty red period. (Yes, I just used the word "pretty" to describe AF. After years of brown, which is truly ugly and gross, it seems fitting to me.)

The only things different this cycle were:
1) bromocriptine (to reduce prolactin) - started six days before AF arrived
2) turmeric - started day 6 of this current cycle
2) daily mug of lemon water

I tried to ask Dr. Google if bromocriptine could have an anti-inflammatory effect but didn't get very far, except for one seemingly unrelated article.  I suppose there could be a different mechanism at work, but I can't speculate what it could be. I think starting turmeric on day 6 is a little too late to explain the disappearance of the TEBB.  So that leads me to believe it's most likely the lemon water? It really seems too good to be true that such an easy "treatment" could be responsible...

In the past I had read about foods that were anti-inflammatory and knew lemons were on the list. Someone posted an article on FB about the benefits of drinking lemon water daily, so I decided, "Why not try it?" I figured it couldn't hurt. The directions said to put a thick slice of lemon in a cup of hot water, let it steep for a while, and then drink it. I was a little skeptical about the lack of sweetener in the water, but decided to trust the article. When DH made his daily cup of tea, he boiled some extra water for me for my "lemon tea" as I called it. (It actually sort of does remind me of lemon tea.) I was pleasantly surprised that the lemon water doesn't taste too bad, considering that lemons are so sour.

I had been drinking the lemon water daily for 3-4 weeks before AF arrived this cycle. I didn't write down the exact date I started it, probably because I didn't think it would have this dramatic of an effect.

If anyone has a better idea of why my TEBB disappeared this cycle, feel free to enlighten me. I'm not holding tightly to the lemon water theory. ;) (I spared you from the pun. You're welcome.)

So the TEBB is gone and I had been on the bromocriptine for three weeks prior to ovulation time this cycle...do you know what that means?  If there isn't another issue (still low vitamin D?) or five that remain undiscovered, we might be able to count this as our first "effective" cycle*. After nearly five years of TTC, the concept of me having an effective cycle is completely foreign. The 2WW is going to get rough, especially if I get to the afternoon on P+16 like last cycle. (Thank you, bromocriptine, for lengthening my post-peak phase to the point where the mind games begin.) This cycle I won't be able to tell myself that there is no chance of pregnancy like last cycle (because prolactin was super high), so there is a possibility I could go crazy. ;)  But it's been a very long time since I've had any optimism about our chances of conceiving, and that feeling seems really hard to shake.  I probably should be a bit more excited than I am.


And the scoop on the bromocriptine...

Bromocriptine has definitely required time to get used to it. I knew beforehand that it has a reputation for its side effects; sometimes the side effects are bad enough to make patients switch to another medication that is easier to tolerate. (That other medicine isn't quite as "safe" to take if you're pregnant or TTC, hence starting with the safer but harsher med first. It's quite possible the nicer medicine is also safe, but a bit less is known about its effects on pregnancy.) The list of side effects on the information sheet from the pharmacy was super long...seemingly longer than most other meds I've been on. I just hoped I would be spared from nausea and vomiting. (I'll deal with them if a baby ever took up residence, but not before then.)

I took the first pill with a little fear—the first time I've been afraid to take a new medication. The side effects came rather quickly and wiped me out. I counted six different side effects on that first day, a couple of which were on the "uncommon side effects" part of the list. Lucky me. One of them was full body weakness; I could barely walk (only tiny, slow steps) and I couldn't even lift a half gallon of milk. It felt like I had the flu plus a sinus infection with some nausea on the side. Lovely, right? Thankfully I felt better the second day and the nausea was gone. On the third day I felt totally normal. I thought, "That was it? I can handle this medication!"

On the fourth day, I came *this close* to fainting during Sunday Mass. Yep, dizziness is on the list of side effects. It was warm in church and I was wearing a cardigan, but it wasn't that warm, DH claims. (In my teenage years, I fainted now and again during Mass if it was too warm, so I know the experience.) After nearly blacking out during the prayers of the faithful, I spent a while sitting with my head between my knees (still in our pew), taking slow, deep breaths in an attempt to keep oxygen flowing to my brain and trying to will myself to remain conscious. I recovered by the sign of peace, and the older woman behind me gave me a big smile of relief as I shook her hand. I swear the look in her eyes said, "Oooh, I bet this girl is pregnant." Do you know the look? (One of my Creighton clients nearly fainted once during Mass, and that's what the old ladies told her after Mass—that she must be pregnant. I knew for a fact that she was not.)

The following Sunday I made sure to wear short sleeves. I did start to feel a little dizzy again but no where near blacking out this time. Since then, I sometimes get dizzy if I stand too quickly. Thankfully, other than that, I have no remaining side effects.

Now that I know my body recognizes the bromocriptine, I hope it will be able to do its job and lower my prolactin. I think I'll find out my new prolactin level in a couple weeks.


*An effective cycle is one that looks normal (and presumes or knows ovulation occurred), has a good mucus cycle, has normal P+7 estrogen and progesterone levels, and has all known medical issues addressed (including appropriate management of stress).  There also should be more than one act of intercourse during the fertile time.  NaPro usually recommends TTC for 12-18 effective cycles.