I know this is a little late, but I wanted to share this news just in case you hadn't heard about it...
The PPVI Institute announced that it is planning to expand their facility. Exciting, right!?! The property next door to the current PPVI building is up for sale, and PPVI is trying to purchase it. You can read the proposal in this pdf. They want to build an addition onto the Institute, which will enable them to have 10 physicians. Ten NaPro physicians!!! Can you imagine that??? Think about what that would do to the waiting times that patients currently have to endure to see one of their surgeons! Right now they have three physicians on staff. From the pictures, it looks like they're going to double the size of the building.
So now they're trying to raise money for the loan to buy the adjacent land which apparently is very time-sensitive. They put out an urgent request recently with the (now past) deadline of November 21st. I couldn't find on their website or Facebook page if they raised enough money for the land loan already. We're on the Institute's mailing list, and we didn't receive a (paper) letter about this request until after the deadline, so maybe the deadline was more of a suggestion to show how urgent this is? You can read the letter from Dr. Hilgers here. If you have the means, you can donate online at the PPVI website and specify that your donation is for the capital campaign. The letter we received asked for a donation of $750 to purchase "one unit" of the new building.
If you can't support the Institute financially, please keep them and this effort in your prayers. I would love to see these plans become a reality. Think of all the couples that could be helped by this expansion! Let me say it again: ten NaPro physicians! How amazing would that be!
Here's a 13-minute video that details the background of NaPro and the Institute. There are some great pictures of Dr. Hilgers from the 70s or 80s in the first 3.5 minutes. :)
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Dreams, meds, and Murphy's Law
This post is rather random. You've been warned. :)
1. The only typical side effect with naltrexone, according to a PPVI nurse, is vivid dreams. I experienced that a couple times when I first started LDN, but haven't noticed it since then even though my dose is much higher. But this week, I had two very vivid dreams related to IF back to back. In the first, DH and I adopted a baby girl. We picked her up from an airport parking lot at night. It was a very strange scenario, but I woke up and thought it was true for a moment. It felt very real. In the second, I was having an ultrasound during my post-peak phase and learned I was pregnant. I was so excited by the news. When I woke up, it felt as if I had truly had the ultrasound the day before. Granted I was groggy from sleep, but it took a lot of mental effort to figure out (convince myself?) that I did not have an ultrasound and was not pregnant. In the dream I was several days further along in my cycle than I am in real life so it really was not possible. IF must be really getting to me if the new theme for my dreams is babies.
2. DH and I started a second round of antibiotics—Zithromax. It's in the same family of antibiotics as Biaxin, so I am optimistic that it might help. Given the side effects I had from the last round of antibiotics, I was a little nervous about this one. The package insert was comforting: “This drug is usually well tolerated. Less than 1% of patients discontinued therapy due to side effects. The most common side effects are diarrhea (5%), nausea (3%), and abdominal pain (3%).” I was not happy to see that nausea was on the list though. I told DH I'd take diarrhea over nausea. He looked at me like I was crazy. Since he couldn't remember the last time he was nauseous, I told him he must have forgotten how it felt because surely no one would pick nausea over diarrhea. ;)
At dinnertime on day 2 of the Zithromax, I started feeling mildly nauseous—just like how it started with the Flagyl on day 2. I had flashbacks to last month. I didn't think I could take three weeks of it again. It's one thing to endure nausea and vomiting during pregnancy knowing that there will be a baby at the end of it, but to have to endure in order that you might possibly get pregnant (no guarantees, of course) is really tough. I figured I would wait and see what happened the next day. Fortunately, there has been no nausea since that night. Thank you, God!
3. I am a little extra hopeful this cycle. I have no reason to think the Biaxin did any good because my TEBB lasted as long as usual (5 days). But—perhaps irrationally—I am secretly hoping that maybe the drug did reduce inflammation enough in my uterus to allow implantation. And I've been at my current dose of T3 for almost a month, so this is the first full cycle where it might have an effect... I can make up scenarios all day long hoping this month will be the month, but that doesn't change reality. I know that. Please don't lock me up for insanity just yet. :) Plus it's Prayer Buddy time, and we all know how pregnancy rates among IFers increase dramatically during this time... To me, new treatment + extra prayers = more hope. :) (No pressure, Prayer Buddy. haha)
The other reason for more hope this cycle is that I noticed breast tenderness for the first time in a long time, and it hasn't gone away yet. So my hope isn't completely irrational. ;)
4. After ordering meds from Kubat's regularly for a while now, I've decided there is some version of Murphy's Law that applies. It would go something like this:
5. I will be glad to be able to get my naltrexone locally instead of from Kubat's as soon as I'm up to 50 mg, which hopefully happens tomorrow when the nurse returns my call. The PPVI protocol for increasing naltrexone has had me calling PPVI when I have 4-5 days of pills remaining to report how I'm feeling. It takes a day for the nurse to return my call, meaning Kubat's gets the order for the increased dose when I have 3-4 days of pills left. (I asked a nurse if I could call earlier than 5 days, and she said, "No, we have to follow the protocol." I said in my experience, Kubat's sometimes needs more than 4 days... She said 4 days is plenty. Isn't it ironic that my meds didn't arrive in 4 days after that conversation?) This stresses me out a little, so I just wanted to give you a heads up in case this would ever apply to you. If you have the choice, give Kubat's a week to be on the safe side. :)
6. DH and I are trying to focus on Advent even though everywhere we go is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. The only decorations we have up are the stockings and the Advent wreath. We won't be putting anything else up including the tree until December 17th, the start of the O Antiphons and the "final" countdown to Christmas. A dear priest friend of ours suggested this idea to us before we were married. He reminded us that Catholics celebrate on a feast day and afterwards, not before. I need that reminder to help prepare for Christmas. It's been really nice to do our evening prayers with the Advent wreath lit.
7. Tomorrow is St. Nick's Day. I hung our stockings, and DH set out his shoes. (He grew up with the shoe tradition, and I grew up with stockings, so we're trying to merge them.) He asked me if I minded if he opened his presents in the morning while I was still sleeping. He gets up much earlier than me and didn't want to wait until he gets home in the evening, even though this is how we've done it every year. I said I wanted to open them together, so if he can get me out of bed at the crack of dawn, we can open them together. Getting me out of bed might be a challenge. I think he might resort to carrying me to the living room if I'm uncooperative. He is really excited about the presents. It's sweet. ;)
1. The only typical side effect with naltrexone, according to a PPVI nurse, is vivid dreams. I experienced that a couple times when I first started LDN, but haven't noticed it since then even though my dose is much higher. But this week, I had two very vivid dreams related to IF back to back. In the first, DH and I adopted a baby girl. We picked her up from an airport parking lot at night. It was a very strange scenario, but I woke up and thought it was true for a moment. It felt very real. In the second, I was having an ultrasound during my post-peak phase and learned I was pregnant. I was so excited by the news. When I woke up, it felt as if I had truly had the ultrasound the day before. Granted I was groggy from sleep, but it took a lot of mental effort to figure out (convince myself?) that I did not have an ultrasound and was not pregnant. In the dream I was several days further along in my cycle than I am in real life so it really was not possible. IF must be really getting to me if the new theme for my dreams is babies.
2. DH and I started a second round of antibiotics—Zithromax. It's in the same family of antibiotics as Biaxin, so I am optimistic that it might help. Given the side effects I had from the last round of antibiotics, I was a little nervous about this one. The package insert was comforting: “This drug is usually well tolerated. Less than 1% of patients discontinued therapy due to side effects. The most common side effects are diarrhea (5%), nausea (3%), and abdominal pain (3%).” I was not happy to see that nausea was on the list though. I told DH I'd take diarrhea over nausea. He looked at me like I was crazy. Since he couldn't remember the last time he was nauseous, I told him he must have forgotten how it felt because surely no one would pick nausea over diarrhea. ;)
At dinnertime on day 2 of the Zithromax, I started feeling mildly nauseous—just like how it started with the Flagyl on day 2. I had flashbacks to last month. I didn't think I could take three weeks of it again. It's one thing to endure nausea and vomiting during pregnancy knowing that there will be a baby at the end of it, but to have to endure in order that you might possibly get pregnant (no guarantees, of course) is really tough. I figured I would wait and see what happened the next day. Fortunately, there has been no nausea since that night. Thank you, God!
3. I am a little extra hopeful this cycle. I have no reason to think the Biaxin did any good because my TEBB lasted as long as usual (5 days). But—perhaps irrationally—I am secretly hoping that maybe the drug did reduce inflammation enough in my uterus to allow implantation. And I've been at my current dose of T3 for almost a month, so this is the first full cycle where it might have an effect... I can make up scenarios all day long hoping this month will be the month, but that doesn't change reality. I know that. Please don't lock me up for insanity just yet. :) Plus it's Prayer Buddy time, and we all know how pregnancy rates among IFers increase dramatically during this time... To me, new treatment + extra prayers = more hope. :) (No pressure, Prayer Buddy. haha)
The other reason for more hope this cycle is that I noticed breast tenderness for the first time in a long time, and it hasn't gone away yet. So my hope isn't completely irrational. ;)
4. After ordering meds from Kubat's regularly for a while now, I've decided there is some version of Murphy's Law that applies. It would go something like this:
If you need your refill in W days (e.g., W = 4 days), it will be delivered in X days, where X>W (e.g., X = 6 days).In other words, if you plan ahead, you'll get your refill quickly, and when you don't call until 4 days before you run out, you won't get the meds in time, even though 95% of the time you receive your meds in 3 days.
If you don't need your refill for Y days (where 7 < Y < 14), it will be delivered in Z days, where Z << Y. (Z = 3 days to be exact)
Note: << means "much less than" here.
5. I will be glad to be able to get my naltrexone locally instead of from Kubat's as soon as I'm up to 50 mg, which hopefully happens tomorrow when the nurse returns my call. The PPVI protocol for increasing naltrexone has had me calling PPVI when I have 4-5 days of pills remaining to report how I'm feeling. It takes a day for the nurse to return my call, meaning Kubat's gets the order for the increased dose when I have 3-4 days of pills left. (I asked a nurse if I could call earlier than 5 days, and she said, "No, we have to follow the protocol." I said in my experience, Kubat's sometimes needs more than 4 days... She said 4 days is plenty. Isn't it ironic that my meds didn't arrive in 4 days after that conversation?) This stresses me out a little, so I just wanted to give you a heads up in case this would ever apply to you. If you have the choice, give Kubat's a week to be on the safe side. :)
6. DH and I are trying to focus on Advent even though everywhere we go is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. The only decorations we have up are the stockings and the Advent wreath. We won't be putting anything else up including the tree until December 17th, the start of the O Antiphons and the "final" countdown to Christmas. A dear priest friend of ours suggested this idea to us before we were married. He reminded us that Catholics celebrate on a feast day and afterwards, not before. I need that reminder to help prepare for Christmas. It's been really nice to do our evening prayers with the Advent wreath lit.
7. Tomorrow is St. Nick's Day. I hung our stockings, and DH set out his shoes. (He grew up with the shoe tradition, and I grew up with stockings, so we're trying to merge them.) He asked me if I minded if he opened his presents in the morning while I was still sleeping. He gets up much earlier than me and didn't want to wait until he gets home in the evening, even though this is how we've done it every year. I said I wanted to open them together, so if he can get me out of bed at the crack of dawn, we can open them together. Getting me out of bed might be a challenge. I think he might resort to carrying me to the living room if I'm uncooperative. He is really excited about the presents. It's sweet. ;)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Talking about IF
I did something I’ve never done before. I told someone I barely knew that we were infertile. Actually, I did it twice in the span of a week. This is a big deal for me since I’m super private about personal stuff. Normally I’d want to tell someone about our IF as much as I’d want tell someone we were having marriage problems (we’re not). Being shy and an introvert, I have to build trust with someone over time before I share anything personal. But in these two situations, I decided to take a risk…
The first conversation started as any get-to-know-you conversation goes. What do you do? How long have you been married? Do you have kids? They were seemingly innocent questions until the woman dropped every IF girl’s favorite question, “So don’t you WANT kids?” It struck me as a bit odd because of the setting. It was the lunch break during an all-day marriage prep session at our parish. I was sitting with the couple who was going to co-present the talk on NFP with me after lunch. We had done the talk together once before, so she knew we were going to talk about being open to life. Perhaps she was checking my credibility as a Catholic NFP instructor? Or maybe she was just curious because of how long we’ve been married. (I think other people’s curiosity about family size and TTC timelines is my biggest pet peeve…) Anyway… The question caught me off guard but she seemed trustworthy enough, so I admitted, “We’ve been trying for years.” I could tell she immediately felt guilty for asking the question. Her eyes widened and she repeated, “Years?? Oh. I’m sorry. I’ll pray for you.” I was impressed at her response. It’s probably the only “correct” response you can say to an IF girl that won’t hurt her feelings. Since many people don’t naturally come up with an acceptable response, I wondered if she’d previously had this conversation with someone else. It turns out she did; one of her good friends was infertile. I shared a bit about NaPro, and she was going to pass the info along to her friend. The rest of the conversation went as well as I could have hoped. She asked questions and listened to my answers, offering no advice whatsoever. If there were an IF sensitivity training course, she would have passed with flying colors. :)
Side note: The conversation made me think that everyone should have an IF friend who can teach her how to respond appropriately to someone with IF in case IF sensitivity doesn’t come naturally…
The second conversation happened at a party hosted by a woman from our parish. I had never met her before that night, but we had spoken on the phone. Our conversation started almost exactly like the one I described above—length of marriage followed by, “Do you have any kids?” She answered the questions first, stating she had four young children. When she asked me, and I said we didn’t have kids yet, she said, “Oh, you’re infertile, too.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. It felt refreshing that she would just assume we were IF. All I had to say was, “Yeah,” and she proceeded to tell me her IF story and how she adopted her children. She was rather outgoing, so I think she would have shared it with me even if I wasn’t IF. I could have talked to her all night, but I think it’s bad party etiquette to monopolize the hostess’s time... I did get to ask her details about adoption, and she was a wealth of information. She said that when she and her husband realized they were infertile, she didn’t want to do any testing to find out what was wrong; she wanted to pursue adoption right away. I had never met anyone who didn’t want to know the reason for her IF, so it was interesting to hear her perspective.
Based on these two encouraging experiences, I may be more likely to share our IF with someone now. I know that just because two individuals responded well doesn’t mean everyone else—or anyone else—will. I mean, I’m not ready to go shouting it from the rooftops (i.e., Facebook) that we’re IF. But at least it built up my courage a bit knowing that I can talk about IF without breaking into tears.
The first conversation started as any get-to-know-you conversation goes. What do you do? How long have you been married? Do you have kids? They were seemingly innocent questions until the woman dropped every IF girl’s favorite question, “So don’t you WANT kids?” It struck me as a bit odd because of the setting. It was the lunch break during an all-day marriage prep session at our parish. I was sitting with the couple who was going to co-present the talk on NFP with me after lunch. We had done the talk together once before, so she knew we were going to talk about being open to life. Perhaps she was checking my credibility as a Catholic NFP instructor? Or maybe she was just curious because of how long we’ve been married. (I think other people’s curiosity about family size and TTC timelines is my biggest pet peeve…) Anyway… The question caught me off guard but she seemed trustworthy enough, so I admitted, “We’ve been trying for years.” I could tell she immediately felt guilty for asking the question. Her eyes widened and she repeated, “Years?? Oh. I’m sorry. I’ll pray for you.” I was impressed at her response. It’s probably the only “correct” response you can say to an IF girl that won’t hurt her feelings. Since many people don’t naturally come up with an acceptable response, I wondered if she’d previously had this conversation with someone else. It turns out she did; one of her good friends was infertile. I shared a bit about NaPro, and she was going to pass the info along to her friend. The rest of the conversation went as well as I could have hoped. She asked questions and listened to my answers, offering no advice whatsoever. If there were an IF sensitivity training course, she would have passed with flying colors. :)
Side note: The conversation made me think that everyone should have an IF friend who can teach her how to respond appropriately to someone with IF in case IF sensitivity doesn’t come naturally…
The second conversation happened at a party hosted by a woman from our parish. I had never met her before that night, but we had spoken on the phone. Our conversation started almost exactly like the one I described above—length of marriage followed by, “Do you have any kids?” She answered the questions first, stating she had four young children. When she asked me, and I said we didn’t have kids yet, she said, “Oh, you’re infertile, too.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. It felt refreshing that she would just assume we were IF. All I had to say was, “Yeah,” and she proceeded to tell me her IF story and how she adopted her children. She was rather outgoing, so I think she would have shared it with me even if I wasn’t IF. I could have talked to her all night, but I think it’s bad party etiquette to monopolize the hostess’s time... I did get to ask her details about adoption, and she was a wealth of information. She said that when she and her husband realized they were infertile, she didn’t want to do any testing to find out what was wrong; she wanted to pursue adoption right away. I had never met anyone who didn’t want to know the reason for her IF, so it was interesting to hear her perspective.
Based on these two encouraging experiences, I may be more likely to share our IF with someone now. I know that just because two individuals responded well doesn’t mean everyone else—or anyone else—will. I mean, I’m not ready to go shouting it from the rooftops (i.e., Facebook) that we’re IF. But at least it built up my courage a bit knowing that I can talk about IF without breaking into tears.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Distractions from IF
What a month and a half it has been. It all started with an ER visit due to the worst pain I’ve felt in my life. Several doctor visits, tests, procedures, and some prescription medication followed. I have some lovely new pictures of my insides to add to my collection from my laparoscopy. Everything turned out to be normal except a small hernia, which the doctor shrugged off and said we don’t have to do anything about. The hernia doesn’t explain the pain I had, so some of the procedures may be repeated at a future date if the pain ever returns. So far, that pain was just a one-day occurrence.
What compounded things a bit was that my body did not react kindly to the cocktail of medications I was taking. Shortly after starting the above-mentioned prescription for a problem the ER doctor assumed I had, I started the antibiotic Flagyl to possibly combat my TEBB. Meanwhile, I had been slowly increasing my naltrexone dose under Dr. K’s direction to reach the usual dose they prescribe for PMS. Managing to take all the pills at the right times was the easy part (surprisingly). One medication was to be taken twice a day with a meal, another was not to be taken within an hour of eating (twice a day), and the third taken four times a day. (This excluded my T3, which is taken every 12 hours on an empty stomach, and the probiotic, which was not to be taken within 2 hours of the antibiotic, but prior to eating.) The hard part was dealing with the nausea and vomiting that resulted. It became pretty predictable at night. Naltrexone anytime after 6 PM plus either of the two new meds within hours of each other resulted in my GI system declaring war. When it got bad enough that I couldn’t think straight, I would be reduced to tears. I admit I’m pretty weak when it comes to that... No amount of eating after dinner would prevent or lessen the nausea (but it would give me heartburn so I slept on the couch in a sitting position several nights). Sometimes it would return after I had fallen asleep, and I’d go sit on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night until my stomach decided it was empty enough. If my experience is similar to what happens during pregnancy, I have a new profound respect of what women go through. I even tried to imagine that I was pregnant (I wasn’t, of course) to try to make dealing it better, but that didn’t help.
I spoke with Dr. K’s nurse several times. She said my side effects were really unusual for naltrexone; most women have no side effects and actually feel great. She thought that my hernia was further exacerbating the medication interactions. (She also informed me that it would cause extra nausea and heartburn during any future pregnancy on top of what is normal for pregnancy.) She gave me suggestions on how to try to reduce the side effects, including lowering the naltrexone, which helped sometimes. I ended up just sticking it out since the antibiotic was almost gone, and I was tapering off of the other prescribed medication from the ER visit (which was deemed unnecessary after all the tests). Just a few days ago, when I was down to only naltrexone and T3, all my side effects disappeared. In fact, I felt great. Fabulous even. It kind of feels like the small high you get after exercising. Or like the time right around ovulation where you feel extra motivated to get things done. So this is how naltrexone is supposed to work. I love my naltrexone now. :) I’m really looking forward to post-peak this cycle to see if my PMS is gone. And I’m almost to the point where I can take non-compounded naltrexone just once a day (easier than four times a day and cheaper hopefully). I’m at 32 mg (compounded) per day now. The end goal is 50 mg (non-compounded) per day. Things are looking up! :)
So after DH and I took the Flagyl simultaneously, there has been no change in my TEBB. Bummer. I wonder if they’ll try a different antibiotic next. Maybe Biaxin? I know that worked for one of my clients to get rid of her TEBB.
This whole series of events took my mind completely off of IF (and blogging and even reading blogs) for quite a while. I missed everyone and have some catching up to do!
We’re thinking seriously about doing the ultrasound series to monitor ovulation in January. PPVI said it would be best if DH could come along so we could TTC, but right now we’re just planning to have me go alone. It may be possible for DH to come for a couple days, but we won’t know that until the last minute because of his work schedule. I am looking forward to learning if my ovaries are doing their job!
What compounded things a bit was that my body did not react kindly to the cocktail of medications I was taking. Shortly after starting the above-mentioned prescription for a problem the ER doctor assumed I had, I started the antibiotic Flagyl to possibly combat my TEBB. Meanwhile, I had been slowly increasing my naltrexone dose under Dr. K’s direction to reach the usual dose they prescribe for PMS. Managing to take all the pills at the right times was the easy part (surprisingly). One medication was to be taken twice a day with a meal, another was not to be taken within an hour of eating (twice a day), and the third taken four times a day. (This excluded my T3, which is taken every 12 hours on an empty stomach, and the probiotic, which was not to be taken within 2 hours of the antibiotic, but prior to eating.) The hard part was dealing with the nausea and vomiting that resulted. It became pretty predictable at night. Naltrexone anytime after 6 PM plus either of the two new meds within hours of each other resulted in my GI system declaring war. When it got bad enough that I couldn’t think straight, I would be reduced to tears. I admit I’m pretty weak when it comes to that... No amount of eating after dinner would prevent or lessen the nausea (but it would give me heartburn so I slept on the couch in a sitting position several nights). Sometimes it would return after I had fallen asleep, and I’d go sit on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night until my stomach decided it was empty enough. If my experience is similar to what happens during pregnancy, I have a new profound respect of what women go through. I even tried to imagine that I was pregnant (I wasn’t, of course) to try to make dealing it better, but that didn’t help.
I spoke with Dr. K’s nurse several times. She said my side effects were really unusual for naltrexone; most women have no side effects and actually feel great. She thought that my hernia was further exacerbating the medication interactions. (She also informed me that it would cause extra nausea and heartburn during any future pregnancy on top of what is normal for pregnancy.) She gave me suggestions on how to try to reduce the side effects, including lowering the naltrexone, which helped sometimes. I ended up just sticking it out since the antibiotic was almost gone, and I was tapering off of the other prescribed medication from the ER visit (which was deemed unnecessary after all the tests). Just a few days ago, when I was down to only naltrexone and T3, all my side effects disappeared. In fact, I felt great. Fabulous even. It kind of feels like the small high you get after exercising. Or like the time right around ovulation where you feel extra motivated to get things done. So this is how naltrexone is supposed to work. I love my naltrexone now. :) I’m really looking forward to post-peak this cycle to see if my PMS is gone. And I’m almost to the point where I can take non-compounded naltrexone just once a day (easier than four times a day and cheaper hopefully). I’m at 32 mg (compounded) per day now. The end goal is 50 mg (non-compounded) per day. Things are looking up! :)
So after DH and I took the Flagyl simultaneously, there has been no change in my TEBB. Bummer. I wonder if they’ll try a different antibiotic next. Maybe Biaxin? I know that worked for one of my clients to get rid of her TEBB.
This whole series of events took my mind completely off of IF (and blogging and even reading blogs) for quite a while. I missed everyone and have some catching up to do!
We’re thinking seriously about doing the ultrasound series to monitor ovulation in January. PPVI said it would be best if DH could come along so we could TTC, but right now we’re just planning to have me go alone. It may be possible for DH to come for a couple days, but we won’t know that until the last minute because of his work schedule. I am looking forward to learning if my ovaries are doing their job!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tales of a new doctor
I am officially a patient of Dr. K at the PPVI Institute. Yay! Since I was a patient there a few years ago, the process to become an active patient again was straightforward: fill out a few forms and have copies of my medical records sent to them. I would say it was a “quick” process except that the medical records department at the hospital where I had my laparoscopy took their sweet time in sending my records to Dr. K. Apparently they have up to a month to complete the record request, and they barely made that deadline. ;) (For new patients, there’s an extra step in the process: you have to wait for one of the PPVI physicians to review your case and make an initial written recommendation, which is mailed to you.)
Dr. K’s first two recommendations were to have an ultrasound series and endometrial cultures done. The cultures I had done a year ago were not thorough enough. Dr. K wanted to test for six different types of organisms which might be taking up residence in my uterus: aerobes, anaerobes, mycoplasma, ureaplasma, Chlamydia, and fungus. The cultures could be done locally, but the ultrasounds would have to be done by a NaPro-trained ultrasound tech. Knowing that a trip to Omaha probably isn’t feasible for me in the near future, I asked if I could have them done locally as well (assuming there was a 99% chance they would say no). They said no. I had heard of cases where a non-NaPro ultrasound tech is given written directions on how to do the NaPro ultrasound, so that’s why I inquired. Obviously that is far from ideal, but I figured it would be better than no ultrasound at all.
DH and I have been discussing it, and he is really supportive of getting the ultrasounds series done. If he had said it’s too much hassle to make the trip, I would have gone along with that and not pushed the idea. It makes you feel really good when your husband is on board. :) DH is trying to plan how he could take a week off, which is even more encouraging because normally it’s hard for him to even take one day off, let alone a week. Dr. K said if it’s at all possible, DH should come along so we can TTC the cycle of the ultrasounds. The bigger issue now is that I don’t have enough vacation days to use; I used them up during the trip to visit DH’s family. So I’d either need special permission to work from the hotel, which is not out of the question—except I’d rather not have to fill my boss in on the details of my IF and the reason for this trip—or we’ll have to wait until January at the earliest. We may have to wait until January anyway since I estimate that my ultrasound week would fall during both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I honestly wouldn’t mind doing the series over Thanksgiving, but I don’t know that the clinic would be open or that the ultrasound tech would be too excited about the idea. ;)
To have the endometrial cultures done, I made an appointment with an ob/gyn in town whom I had never met. I needed a new ob/gyn anyway for pap smears (and maybe, hopefully, God-willing someday for the ob aspect). Armed with a prescription script from Dr. K listing the required tests, I was mentally resigned to face any reaction on the spectrum from indifference to hostility. You just never know how a mainstream doctor is going to react to NaPro.
Before the doctor even came into the exam room, I could hear the conversation just outside the door between the nurse and doctor. Walls and doors don't block any sound in this office apparently. The doctor wanted the nurse to call PPVI to ask how the sample was to be collected. She was transferred a few times before she actually got a PPVI doctor on the phone. I breathed a sigh of relief. Who knows where the doctor might be—with a patient, in the middle of surgery, on vacation—especially on a Friday afternoon...
In the meantime the doctor came in to meet me and take my history. He wanted to know what kind of tests had been done for our IF and why these cultures were being requested. I described the hormone profile, surgery, and why it was suspected that I had an endometrial infection. No doctor can argue that periods lasting up to 13 days including a week of brown bleeding are normal. At least I had that evidence going for me! Most mainstream doctors would not suspect infection as a cause of brown bleeding, however.
He asked if we'd done ovulation stimulation or ovulation predictor kits to see if I'm ovulating or IVF. I said no to all of the above. I mentioned that I was charting to know the time of fertility and that the next thing PPVI wants to investigate is whether I'm ovulating...by doing ultrasounds. He looked like he was about ready to roll his eyes. He said that what I've had done so far is not usually how most doctors handle IF pts. Really? I had no idea! ;) I wonder if he thought I'd been shortchanged out of the usual IF offerings: Clomid, ovulation kits, and then IVF?
One of the first things I had said to him was that the approach my (NaPro) doctors were using was not mainstream. at. all. It might have made a tad more sense why we were taking this “unusual” route if I had explained that IVF and any other ART are not options for us morally and that we’d like to actually fix what’s wrong with my body, but there wasn't an opportunity to interject that information. You can only cover so much at the first appointment.
He also said that this unconventional approach was expensive.
Yes, but since when is IVF cheap? And it’s this “unconventional approach” that is responsible for finding and fixing the first two of my IF-related problems—endometriosis and a luteal phase defect—neither of which mainstream medicine would have found nor fixed. Why is it so hard for mainstream doctors to understand this? It’s frustrating...
He stopped short of saying NaPro is "silly" or "a waste of money" but I don't think those thoughts were far from his mind.
He left the room when the nurse had a PPVI doctor on the phone. Again I could hear every word he said loud and clear. I heard him express his skepticism about everything that had been done to me so far. I'm sure the PPVI staff gets this all the time.
He returned to my exam room with good news, bad news, and interesting news. The good news was they would be able to do the cultures. The bad news was that they were going to do an endometrial biopsy, and it was going to hurt. I know what you're thinking. Noooo! Not a biopsy! Those are horrible! I would agree. Last year’s biopsy was no fun. But I pretty much expected that was going to be the case, so I consented.
And the interesting news? He knew the PPVI doctor with whom he had just spoken. In other words, he was personally acquainted with her, and she had explained NaPro to him in the past multiple times. Talk about a small world! Perhaps it was Providence? :) That connection I think may be a substantial reason why he turned out to be so cooperative.
The doctor left to get the necessary supplies. The two nurses in the hall were having a tough time figuring out what kind of swabs were needed for the six different cultures that Dr. K wanted. I heard them make a couple phone calls—presumably to their lab. I heard them pull out the instruction manual for the swabs they had on hand. I heard them say they don't have the all the right ones. I heard them on the phone again. This went on for a while. Meanwhile I decided to make myself comfortable and lie back on the exam table.
The doctor returned briefly to say they were working on it and promised they wouldn't close up the office for the weekend with me covered with a sheet on the exam table. I was glad he was so good-natured about the whole thing.
Finally he returned, ready to go. He said PPVI had called back and changed their instructions: no biopsy needed. Just use the swabs. That meant no scary metal objects through my cervix, just a long q-tip-like stick. Yay! They had to take 3 or 4 samples but it did not hurt at all. I'd almost say a pap smear is worse. I highly recommend this method over the biopsy. Afterward the doctor gave me the (half-joking) disclaimer that it wasn't his fault if it turns out PPVI really needed a biopsy and I end up having to come back. He was just following orders. ;)
Now as much as this doctor was clearly skeptical of the NaPro approach, he was and is remarkably cooperative. He said he will do whatever PPVI asks, as if he's the local arm of their clinic. Wow! I was stunned. I was definitely not expecting that. His only request was that PPVI send him a summary of their approach to treating me so he understands the bigger picture. Seems reasonable to me. Hopefully PPVI already has such a document. He also wants all PPVI orders faxed to his office to ensure legitimacy and so he can follow along what is being done. Not a problem, I assume. I bet this will be a bit eye-opening for him. But to be honest I'm not sure how many more orders for tests and things there will be, other than the monthly Peak+7 blood draws. Since I just go to the hospital lab for that, it doesn't really involve him, unless for some reason the lab stopped accepting the paper order that I bring along and needed an order from a local doctor. I guess I'll just have PPVI fax him orders when they need him to do something—pelvic exam, other test, etc.
They said the fungal culture could take up to three weeks because it grows slowly. Nothing with IF is ever quick, is it? ;)
Dr. K’s first two recommendations were to have an ultrasound series and endometrial cultures done. The cultures I had done a year ago were not thorough enough. Dr. K wanted to test for six different types of organisms which might be taking up residence in my uterus: aerobes, anaerobes, mycoplasma, ureaplasma, Chlamydia, and fungus. The cultures could be done locally, but the ultrasounds would have to be done by a NaPro-trained ultrasound tech. Knowing that a trip to Omaha probably isn’t feasible for me in the near future, I asked if I could have them done locally as well (assuming there was a 99% chance they would say no). They said no. I had heard of cases where a non-NaPro ultrasound tech is given written directions on how to do the NaPro ultrasound, so that’s why I inquired. Obviously that is far from ideal, but I figured it would be better than no ultrasound at all.
DH and I have been discussing it, and he is really supportive of getting the ultrasounds series done. If he had said it’s too much hassle to make the trip, I would have gone along with that and not pushed the idea. It makes you feel really good when your husband is on board. :) DH is trying to plan how he could take a week off, which is even more encouraging because normally it’s hard for him to even take one day off, let alone a week. Dr. K said if it’s at all possible, DH should come along so we can TTC the cycle of the ultrasounds. The bigger issue now is that I don’t have enough vacation days to use; I used them up during the trip to visit DH’s family. So I’d either need special permission to work from the hotel, which is not out of the question—except I’d rather not have to fill my boss in on the details of my IF and the reason for this trip—or we’ll have to wait until January at the earliest. We may have to wait until January anyway since I estimate that my ultrasound week would fall during both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I honestly wouldn’t mind doing the series over Thanksgiving, but I don’t know that the clinic would be open or that the ultrasound tech would be too excited about the idea. ;)
To have the endometrial cultures done, I made an appointment with an ob/gyn in town whom I had never met. I needed a new ob/gyn anyway for pap smears (and maybe, hopefully, God-willing someday for the ob aspect). Armed with a prescription script from Dr. K listing the required tests, I was mentally resigned to face any reaction on the spectrum from indifference to hostility. You just never know how a mainstream doctor is going to react to NaPro.
Before the doctor even came into the exam room, I could hear the conversation just outside the door between the nurse and doctor. Walls and doors don't block any sound in this office apparently. The doctor wanted the nurse to call PPVI to ask how the sample was to be collected. She was transferred a few times before she actually got a PPVI doctor on the phone. I breathed a sigh of relief. Who knows where the doctor might be—with a patient, in the middle of surgery, on vacation—especially on a Friday afternoon...
In the meantime the doctor came in to meet me and take my history. He wanted to know what kind of tests had been done for our IF and why these cultures were being requested. I described the hormone profile, surgery, and why it was suspected that I had an endometrial infection. No doctor can argue that periods lasting up to 13 days including a week of brown bleeding are normal. At least I had that evidence going for me! Most mainstream doctors would not suspect infection as a cause of brown bleeding, however.
He asked if we'd done ovulation stimulation or ovulation predictor kits to see if I'm ovulating or IVF. I said no to all of the above. I mentioned that I was charting to know the time of fertility and that the next thing PPVI wants to investigate is whether I'm ovulating...by doing ultrasounds. He looked like he was about ready to roll his eyes. He said that what I've had done so far is not usually how most doctors handle IF pts. Really? I had no idea! ;) I wonder if he thought I'd been shortchanged out of the usual IF offerings: Clomid, ovulation kits, and then IVF?
One of the first things I had said to him was that the approach my (NaPro) doctors were using was not mainstream. at. all. It might have made a tad more sense why we were taking this “unusual” route if I had explained that IVF and any other ART are not options for us morally and that we’d like to actually fix what’s wrong with my body, but there wasn't an opportunity to interject that information. You can only cover so much at the first appointment.
He also said that this unconventional approach was expensive.
Yes, but since when is IVF cheap? And it’s this “unconventional approach” that is responsible for finding and fixing the first two of my IF-related problems—endometriosis and a luteal phase defect—neither of which mainstream medicine would have found nor fixed. Why is it so hard for mainstream doctors to understand this? It’s frustrating...
He stopped short of saying NaPro is "silly" or "a waste of money" but I don't think those thoughts were far from his mind.
He left the room when the nurse had a PPVI doctor on the phone. Again I could hear every word he said loud and clear. I heard him express his skepticism about everything that had been done to me so far. I'm sure the PPVI staff gets this all the time.
He returned to my exam room with good news, bad news, and interesting news. The good news was they would be able to do the cultures. The bad news was that they were going to do an endometrial biopsy, and it was going to hurt. I know what you're thinking. Noooo! Not a biopsy! Those are horrible! I would agree. Last year’s biopsy was no fun. But I pretty much expected that was going to be the case, so I consented.
And the interesting news? He knew the PPVI doctor with whom he had just spoken. In other words, he was personally acquainted with her, and she had explained NaPro to him in the past multiple times. Talk about a small world! Perhaps it was Providence? :) That connection I think may be a substantial reason why he turned out to be so cooperative.
The doctor left to get the necessary supplies. The two nurses in the hall were having a tough time figuring out what kind of swabs were needed for the six different cultures that Dr. K wanted. I heard them make a couple phone calls—presumably to their lab. I heard them pull out the instruction manual for the swabs they had on hand. I heard them say they don't have the all the right ones. I heard them on the phone again. This went on for a while. Meanwhile I decided to make myself comfortable and lie back on the exam table.
The doctor returned briefly to say they were working on it and promised they wouldn't close up the office for the weekend with me covered with a sheet on the exam table. I was glad he was so good-natured about the whole thing.
Finally he returned, ready to go. He said PPVI had called back and changed their instructions: no biopsy needed. Just use the swabs. That meant no scary metal objects through my cervix, just a long q-tip-like stick. Yay! They had to take 3 or 4 samples but it did not hurt at all. I'd almost say a pap smear is worse. I highly recommend this method over the biopsy. Afterward the doctor gave me the (half-joking) disclaimer that it wasn't his fault if it turns out PPVI really needed a biopsy and I end up having to come back. He was just following orders. ;)
Now as much as this doctor was clearly skeptical of the NaPro approach, he was and is remarkably cooperative. He said he will do whatever PPVI asks, as if he's the local arm of their clinic. Wow! I was stunned. I was definitely not expecting that. His only request was that PPVI send him a summary of their approach to treating me so he understands the bigger picture. Seems reasonable to me. Hopefully PPVI already has such a document. He also wants all PPVI orders faxed to his office to ensure legitimacy and so he can follow along what is being done. Not a problem, I assume. I bet this will be a bit eye-opening for him. But to be honest I'm not sure how many more orders for tests and things there will be, other than the monthly Peak+7 blood draws. Since I just go to the hospital lab for that, it doesn't really involve him, unless for some reason the lab stopped accepting the paper order that I bring along and needed an order from a local doctor. I guess I'll just have PPVI fax him orders when they need him to do something—pelvic exam, other test, etc.
They said the fungal culture could take up to three weeks because it grows slowly. Nothing with IF is ever quick, is it? ;)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Visiting the in-laws
Here I am crawling out from under my rock to post an update. :)
We had a pretty nice vacation visiting DH's family. They live far away so I've only seen them a few times since we’ve been married. One particular day we spent the entire day with DH’s parents in a nearby town—visiting a garden, strolling through cute shops, etc. The following day my MIL handed us her camera so we could see the pictures she had taken of her grandson (our nephew) whom I had yet to meet. We flipped through lots of pictures of the baby. Then we came to a picture from our outing together the day before. There was one picture of the garden and that was it. They had spent the entire day with us in some rather picturesque areas and had not taken a single picture of us. Did I mention it had been two years since they last saw me? DH just shrugged it off. Maybe it only strikes a girl as odd if she's PMSing and is more prone to feel sorry for herself. Of course babies are much cuter to photograph—I know that—especially if that baby is the one and only grandchild who visits once a week (meaning lots of opportunities for photo shoots). It still hurt though because I felt like DH and I were second class because we don't have kids. It didn't help that I heard my MIL rave about her wonderful grandson fairly often during our visit. I doubt she meant to rub it in our faces. I mean, she never asked us when we were going to have kids, but it got old after a while.
DH's parents know we're infertile. Or at least they know that we've been TTC for a long time, and it obviously hasn't worked yet. DH doesn't give them updates, and they don't ask. I guess I don't mind that that's how it is. I greatly prefer it to constant questions and other random comments.
I met my nephew a couple days later. I admit he was pretty cute. There's something about a baby smiling at me that just melts my IF heart. I couldn't bring myself to hold him though. Just to keep myself from completely breaking down in tears (I was still PMSing), I had to put my IF sadness in a little “box” and shove it to the back of my mind. That was the only way I could put on a happy face. I didn't think I could pull it off while holding him. I did play with him a little so as not to appear that I completely dislike babies. ;)
I also met my SIL for the first time. The more I got to know her, the more I liked her. She is still kind of overwhelmed by the events of the last year—pregnancy, moving several hours away from her friends to live with my BIL, birth, wedding, and now raising their son.
During our trip we were also able to do a mini pilgrimage, visiting two beautiful cathedrals and a basilica. At each church we lit a candle and prayed for all those still waiting, especially my prayer buddy and all those in the IF blogging community. I prayed for as many of you by name as I could remember.
We had a pretty nice vacation visiting DH's family. They live far away so I've only seen them a few times since we’ve been married. One particular day we spent the entire day with DH’s parents in a nearby town—visiting a garden, strolling through cute shops, etc. The following day my MIL handed us her camera so we could see the pictures she had taken of her grandson (our nephew) whom I had yet to meet. We flipped through lots of pictures of the baby. Then we came to a picture from our outing together the day before. There was one picture of the garden and that was it. They had spent the entire day with us in some rather picturesque areas and had not taken a single picture of us. Did I mention it had been two years since they last saw me? DH just shrugged it off. Maybe it only strikes a girl as odd if she's PMSing and is more prone to feel sorry for herself. Of course babies are much cuter to photograph—I know that—especially if that baby is the one and only grandchild who visits once a week (meaning lots of opportunities for photo shoots). It still hurt though because I felt like DH and I were second class because we don't have kids. It didn't help that I heard my MIL rave about her wonderful grandson fairly often during our visit. I doubt she meant to rub it in our faces. I mean, she never asked us when we were going to have kids, but it got old after a while.
DH's parents know we're infertile. Or at least they know that we've been TTC for a long time, and it obviously hasn't worked yet. DH doesn't give them updates, and they don't ask. I guess I don't mind that that's how it is. I greatly prefer it to constant questions and other random comments.
I met my nephew a couple days later. I admit he was pretty cute. There's something about a baby smiling at me that just melts my IF heart. I couldn't bring myself to hold him though. Just to keep myself from completely breaking down in tears (I was still PMSing), I had to put my IF sadness in a little “box” and shove it to the back of my mind. That was the only way I could put on a happy face. I didn't think I could pull it off while holding him. I did play with him a little so as not to appear that I completely dislike babies. ;)
I also met my SIL for the first time. The more I got to know her, the more I liked her. She is still kind of overwhelmed by the events of the last year—pregnancy, moving several hours away from her friends to live with my BIL, birth, wedding, and now raising their son.
During our trip we were also able to do a mini pilgrimage, visiting two beautiful cathedrals and a basilica. At each church we lit a candle and prayed for all those still waiting, especially my prayer buddy and all those in the IF blogging community. I prayed for as many of you by name as I could remember.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Polypharmacy
And I'm only 30.
Here's my current list:
Every morning I fill up a little container with all the pills for the day. DH took one look at my (filled) container and asked, “How old are you?? 80??” Not funny, DH. Not funny. ;)
My med list isn't that long, compared to some of you. But with the latest additions, I am starting to feel a little elderly with the number of pills I'm taking per day. Yes, most of them are OTC but it still adds up. I would use a regular pill box that I could fill weekly but I’d have to get a huge one. That might really reinforce the elderly feeling. ;) I am thankful that I don't have to set an alarm to take any of them like I did when I was on antibiotics so I wouldn't miss a dose. I suppose I shouldn’t speak too soon; I am becoming a patient at the PPVI Institute, which means I may go back on antibiotics and/or T3. Years ago when I was a patient at PPVI they had me on T3. And my TEBB refuses to go away so I assume they’ll recommend an antibiotic I haven’t tried already. Infection and adrenal fatigue are the only two remaining causes for my TEBB that haven’t been fully investigated. The other (known) causes have been pretty much ruled out or are currently being treated. I suppose there’s always a chance my TEBB is “unexplained” but let’s not talk about that now. ;)
I'm going to be doing some traveling soon so I need to stay extra organized with all these pills. I don't want to bring all the bottles with me...it would take up half of my bag I think! This will be the first time I’ll have to transport syringes and HCG. Can't a girl catch a break and have a nice vacation without having to lug along all her injection supplies? ;) I guess we'll just do the best we can.
Here's my current list:
- LDN
- Fish oil
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin D3
- Calcium/vitamin D
- Prenatal vitamin
- HCG (post-peak)
- Probiotic
Every morning I fill up a little container with all the pills for the day. DH took one look at my (filled) container and asked, “How old are you?? 80??” Not funny, DH. Not funny. ;)
My med list isn't that long, compared to some of you. But with the latest additions, I am starting to feel a little elderly with the number of pills I'm taking per day. Yes, most of them are OTC but it still adds up. I would use a regular pill box that I could fill weekly but I’d have to get a huge one. That might really reinforce the elderly feeling. ;) I am thankful that I don't have to set an alarm to take any of them like I did when I was on antibiotics so I wouldn't miss a dose. I suppose I shouldn’t speak too soon; I am becoming a patient at the PPVI Institute, which means I may go back on antibiotics and/or T3. Years ago when I was a patient at PPVI they had me on T3. And my TEBB refuses to go away so I assume they’ll recommend an antibiotic I haven’t tried already. Infection and adrenal fatigue are the only two remaining causes for my TEBB that haven’t been fully investigated. The other (known) causes have been pretty much ruled out or are currently being treated. I suppose there’s always a chance my TEBB is “unexplained” but let’s not talk about that now. ;)
I'm going to be doing some traveling soon so I need to stay extra organized with all these pills. I don't want to bring all the bottles with me...it would take up half of my bag I think! This will be the first time I’ll have to transport syringes and HCG. Can't a girl catch a break and have a nice vacation without having to lug along all her injection supplies? ;) I guess we'll just do the best we can.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Happy NFP Awareness Week!
Since it's NFP Awareness Week and the anniversary of Humanae Vitae is July 25th, I thought I'd post links to a series of short videos created by a some Catholic seminarians highlighting some of the differences between NFP and contraception. They're a few years old, so maybe you've seen them already. Enjoy! :)
Obviously these are just short sound bites. If you're interested in digging deeper, here's a link to another favorite of mine: "Contraception: Why Not?" by Dr. Janet Smith. It's an older version of the current talk, but the basics are the same (aside from some older research stats). She also has articles on her website.
NFP vs. Contraception I
NFP vs. Contraception II
NFP vs. Contraception III
NFP vs. Contraception IV
NFP vs. Contraception V
NFP vs. Contraception VI
NFP vs. Contraception VII
Obviously these are just short sound bites. If you're interested in digging deeper, here's a link to another favorite of mine: "Contraception: Why Not?" by Dr. Janet Smith. It's an older version of the current talk, but the basics are the same (aside from some older research stats). She also has articles on her website.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
My naltrexone isn't dairy-free
It's really not what you want to find out after you've been taking it for a month and a half. :(
I've been dairy-free (and gluten-free) for over a year and half in the hopes that it would help improve our fertility. I wrote about the encouraging changes on my chart as a result of that diet change here. My chart is still more or less the same since then. I get a couple additional green stamps post-peak in cycles where I use HCG.
Anyway, I had read—just before starting LDN—that sometimes lactose is used as a filler when the drug is prepared. It didn't concern me at the time because I assumed at least one of the following would be true: 1) perhaps they don't use lactose as often these days since lactose intolerance seems to be fairly common, 2) the pharmacy would ask me if I could tolerate lactose before filling the prescription, or 3) the pill bottle or accompanying info sheet would inform me that lactose was an ingredient. Food labels are quite good at labeling lactose; why wouldn't a drug label be the same? I just figured I would find out somehow and didn't give it another thought.
Yesterday I was searching for a website I could send to my NaPro doc explaining how one might compound LDN in her own kitchen in case he had not heard of this possibility. (I still hadn't asked him for this.) One website I was reading again mentioned lactose as a filler, which made me start to wonder if my LDN had lactose in it. I went to check the info sheet that usually comes along with a prescription (listing common side effects, etc.) and realized I never received one. Thinking I was being paranoid, I thought it wouldn't hurt to call Kub.at's and find out for sure. Judging by the employee's reaction to my question, I'm guessing not a lot of people ask about this. He confirmed, yes, there is lactose in my LDN. :( I asked if they had lactose-free LDN available. After some searching, he said that they did have it, but that my doctor would have to specifically order lactose-free LDN for me. (Really? I can't just say, "Please send me the lactose-free kind?")
Since it would be faster to have a new prescription filled locally (as opposed to mailed from Kub.at's), I started to call local pharmacies asking if they had lactose-free naltrexone. I started with a chain store pharmacy which I've used in the past. The pharmacist almost chuckled when I said "naltrexone" because he said it's been ages since he has dispensed that drug. Not a good sign... He said he could order naltrexone but since he's at a chain store, he can't choose the manufacturer. (The chain store just ships him what they have in stock, which could be from a handful of different manufacturers.) So there's no way to guarantee that the drug he receives is lactose-free. I could tell he was frustrated he couldn't help, but he did give me names of two other non-chain pharmacies in town that would have more freedom in ordering. I called one of them, and the only naltrexone they carry is lactose-free. :) And the cost for approximately one year's supply (compounded by me) is less than what I am paying now for one MONTH'S supply (compounded by the pharmacy)! I know, I know—I should have arranged all of this sooner.
Now I just need to wait to hear back from my NaPro doc that he agrees to let me compound LDN myself...
If only I had known I was going to be ingesting lactose and thus breaking my dairy-free diet, I would have splurged for something much more satisfying like some good chocolate**!! Or a mocha! Oh, how I miss mocha...
**Fear not, I am not totally deprived of chocolate. Our grocery store sells some dairy-free chocolate. :)
I've been dairy-free (and gluten-free) for over a year and half in the hopes that it would help improve our fertility. I wrote about the encouraging changes on my chart as a result of that diet change here. My chart is still more or less the same since then. I get a couple additional green stamps post-peak in cycles where I use HCG.
Anyway, I had read—just before starting LDN—that sometimes lactose is used as a filler when the drug is prepared. It didn't concern me at the time because I assumed at least one of the following would be true: 1) perhaps they don't use lactose as often these days since lactose intolerance seems to be fairly common, 2) the pharmacy would ask me if I could tolerate lactose before filling the prescription, or 3) the pill bottle or accompanying info sheet would inform me that lactose was an ingredient. Food labels are quite good at labeling lactose; why wouldn't a drug label be the same? I just figured I would find out somehow and didn't give it another thought.
Yesterday I was searching for a website I could send to my NaPro doc explaining how one might compound LDN in her own kitchen in case he had not heard of this possibility. (I still hadn't asked him for this.) One website I was reading again mentioned lactose as a filler, which made me start to wonder if my LDN had lactose in it. I went to check the info sheet that usually comes along with a prescription (listing common side effects, etc.) and realized I never received one. Thinking I was being paranoid, I thought it wouldn't hurt to call Kub.at's and find out for sure. Judging by the employee's reaction to my question, I'm guessing not a lot of people ask about this. He confirmed, yes, there is lactose in my LDN. :( I asked if they had lactose-free LDN available. After some searching, he said that they did have it, but that my doctor would have to specifically order lactose-free LDN for me. (Really? I can't just say, "Please send me the lactose-free kind?")
Since it would be faster to have a new prescription filled locally (as opposed to mailed from Kub.at's), I started to call local pharmacies asking if they had lactose-free naltrexone. I started with a chain store pharmacy which I've used in the past. The pharmacist almost chuckled when I said "naltrexone" because he said it's been ages since he has dispensed that drug. Not a good sign... He said he could order naltrexone but since he's at a chain store, he can't choose the manufacturer. (The chain store just ships him what they have in stock, which could be from a handful of different manufacturers.) So there's no way to guarantee that the drug he receives is lactose-free. I could tell he was frustrated he couldn't help, but he did give me names of two other non-chain pharmacies in town that would have more freedom in ordering. I called one of them, and the only naltrexone they carry is lactose-free. :) And the cost for approximately one year's supply (compounded by me) is less than what I am paying now for one MONTH'S supply (compounded by the pharmacy)! I know, I know—I should have arranged all of this sooner.
Now I just need to wait to hear back from my NaPro doc that he agrees to let me compound LDN myself...
If only I had known I was going to be ingesting lactose and thus breaking my dairy-free diet, I would have splurged for something much more satisfying like some good chocolate**!! Or a mocha! Oh, how I miss mocha...
**Fear not, I am not totally deprived of chocolate. Our grocery store sells some dairy-free chocolate. :)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Novena to Sts. Joachim and Anne
The feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is coming up on July 26th, so DH and I decided to pray a novena asking for their intercession for us and for all couples facing IF or miscarriage.
Source: USCCB website
Good parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
grandparents of our Savior, Jesus Christ,
When life seems barren,
help us to trust in God’s mercy.
When we are confused,
help us to find the way to God.
When we are lost in the desert,
lead us to those whom God has called us to love.
When our marriage seems lifeless,
show us the eternal youth of the Lord.
When we are selfish,
teach us to cling only to that which lasts.
When we are afraid,
help us to trust in God.
When we are ashamed,
remind us that we are God’s children.
When we sin,
lead us to do God’s will.
You who know God’s will for husband and wife,
help us to live chastely.
You who know God’s will for the family,
keep all families close to you.
You who suffered without children,
intercede for all infertile couples.
You who trusted in God’s will,
help us to respect God’s gift of fertility.
You who gave birth to the Blessed Mother,
inspire couples to be co-creators with God.
You who taught the Mother of God,
teach us to nurture children in holy instruction.
You whose hearts trusted in God,
hear our prayers for . . . (mention your requests here)
Pray with us for the ministry of Catholic family life.
Pray with us for the ministry of Natural Family Planning.
Pray with us for all who give their time, talent and treasure to this good work.
Hail Mary. . . Our Father. . . Glory Be to the Father. . .
God of our fathers, you gave Saints Anne and Joachim the privilege of being the parents of Mary, the mother of your incarnate Son. May their prayers help us to attain the salvation you have promised to your people. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: USCCB website
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