OUCH!!!

I got back from my doctor appointment a little while ago. I had THE most PAINFUL ultrasound I have ever had! The nurse said it was because there are so many follicles in my ovaries right now. She said she wasn't surprised that it was hurting and asked me if I had been having pains in my ovaries even before I came in. I had been having pains and wondering what they were. Now, I know! Anyway, none of the follicles were mature enough for "harvesting", so I have to go back in on Friday for another ultrasound. Needless to say, I was disappointed. The clomid worked so well this last cycle that I really thought it would work even better this cycle. It's not that it's not working, it is just taking more time. The nurse said it's normal for some people to have to come back 2-3 times before the follicle(s) is/are fully mature. So, I will update on Friday when we will find out if my follicles have matured. (It is so weird saying stuff like this. ;) )

A Not So Happy Anniversary

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of the first positive pregnancy test David and I ever got. I miscarried that baby and another one in June 2007. A friend I grew up with is now dealing with the same emotions I had to deal with and I am reminded of how hard it was when I miscarried. My husband would try to encourage me. People would say things like, "God will never give you more than you can handle." I knew that in my head, but I couldn't fathom how He was going to get me through that. Now, after so much time has passed, I see how God has brought me through all of this. Sure, I still hurt and cry at times, but He has shown me that He will, can and did get me through a very tough time! Our journey is not over yet, as those that read this blog well know, but I know that my God will get me through all of this. Even if I never bear a child of my own, I know that God is faithful and He will give me the strength to get through that. Now, I can't even fathom that I could get through that. That is way beyond anything I can conceive, but that's what God's word promises and I must rest on that!

Here we go again...

I went back to the doctor on Monday. I did have a cyst on my right ovary, but it was healing so everything was ok to go ahead and start the clomid again. I started the clomid that night so here we go on this next cycle. My next appt. is Wednesday, Sept. 24th. They will be checking to see if my follicles have matured. It will be pretty much the same thing as this last cycle so you can see the process a few blogs back. Be praying for us in this journey! Our new motto concering all of this is:

It is for OUR good and HIS glory!!!!

Back to the doctor

If you haven't noticed the ticker yet, it's official. My period started today. I will call the doctor on Monday to go in for another ultrasound. I will update once the appointment happens.

Youth Lock-In

On Friday night, August 23rd, we had our first youth lock-in at the church where David is the Youth/Children's Pastor. I thought I would share some of the images with you all. David and I stayed up the ENTIRE night (from 7pm to 9am). For those of you that know me well, that was a great feat for me!

Embarrassing, yes, but funny nonetheless!

The youth had to dress up the adults with toilet paper.

L to R: Pastor Tim Rogers, Angie Gomez, Gail Rogers

This is the winning team!

You can see the medals we made for the winners well in this picture!

"Human Vacuum" Race
(They had to eat 4 bowls of marshmallows along the way. Don't worry, there were only about 8 in each bowl.)

"Bobblehead Bowling"

You can see some of the youth in this picture protecting the partition behind them from the frozen milk jug in the foreground.

A Funny game of Twister!

The next 3 pictures are the winners of the eating game.

This is Jacob. He had to eat chocolate that had been melted in the bottom of the bowl.

This is Derek. He had to eat carrot baby food. Yuck!

This is T.J. He had to eat chocolate pudding with pieces of hot dogs mixed in! Double Yuck!!!!

David and I when it was almost time for them to all be picked up. We were so ready for bed!

Update

We had another appointment yesterday. For those of you that know things about TTC, they were checking to see if the clomid was working. I had one follicle that was maturing (that's what realeases the egg). It wasn't quite mature yet so they couldn't give me the shot they had talked about just yet. It's an HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) shot. It is used to trigger ovulation once the follicle is mature enough. I had that shot this morning, so we know that in the next 36-38 hours, I will ovulate!

I think I have said this before, but I am just very excited with all the monitoring they are doing. I really feel like we are actually getting somewhere for a change!

Appointment Results

David and I went to our RE (see last post) this past Tuesday. I had an ultrasound to check to see if I had any cysts on my ovaries. The nurse (the doc's wife) did our consultation afterwards. She said she was really encouraged by the improvments in my labs and my weight loss (I've lost 20 pounds since I was last at that doctor). She said we were ready to go ahead and start the clomid. I will be going in next Tuesday (the 26th) for another ultrasound for them to see if the clomid is doing its job. We will see how this goes. I hope it goes well. ;) They will then give me some sort of shot to "help things along". :) I am not sure what the shot is or exactly what it does, but I am sure I will find out on Tuesday. I am really excited about all of this. I really feel like we are actually getting somewhere!!!! It's felt like such a slow process up until this point, but with all the monitoring that is going on now, I feel like it's going a bit faster.

In case you are wondering about the medicines I am on, they are called metformin and clomid. Some of you might have heard of metformin before as a drug for diabetics, but it also has great indications for women having trouble with fertility. Below is information on both drugs to give you an idea of why I am on them.

I should also mention that I have been diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). If you are interested, here is a link for informaiton on it.
http://women.webmd.com/tc/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-topic-overview

METFORMIN

Metformin is an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels.

Benefits of Metformin
RESTORATION OF NORMAL MENSTRUAL CYCLE. A number of studies have shown that menstruation can be restored in many women with PCOS. For example, in a study at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, 43 women who were not having periods took Glucophage, and 39 of them resumed normal menses.(6) In another study at Jewish Hospital, 11 teenage girls with PCOS were put on metformin and a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. Ten of the 11 girls resumed regular periods.(7)
IMPROVED CHANCE OF PREGNANCY. A study of 48 women with PCOS and infertility was conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine. They were first given metformin and 19 of them resumed menstruating and showed indications of ovulation. But 10 required clomiphene (a fertility drug) in addition to metformin in order to show evidence of ovulation. Twenty women of the 48 (42%) became pregnant. However, 7 of the 20 miscarried.(8)
REDUCED RISK OF MISCARRIAGE. Another aspect of PCOS-related infertility is the tendency for repeated miscarriages. A study from the Hospital de Clinicas Caracas in Venezuela looked at 65 women who received Glucophage during their pregnancies vs. 31 who did not. The early pregnancy (first trimester) loss rate in the metformin group was 8.8% as compared to a 41.9% loss in the untreated group. Of those women who previously had miscarried, 11.1% of the metformin group miscarried again, while 58.3% of the untreated group again miscarried. (9)
REDUCED RISK OF GESTATIONAL DIABETES. In another study at Jewish Hospital in Cincinatti, gestational diabetes risk was evaluated in two groups of PCOS women. The first group was 33 non-diabletic women who had conceived while taking metformin or took it during their pregnancy. This group was compared to a group of 39 PCOS women who did not take it. Only 3% of the metformin group developed gestational diabetes as compared to 31% in the non-metformin group.(10)
WEIGHT LOSS AND OTHER BENEFITS. Metformin may contribute to weight loss in some diabetics.(11) However, weight loss does not appear to be one of its primary benefits. Glucophage may also be of some value improving success with in vitro fertilization, lowering cholesterol, and improving energy.

CLOMID
This medication is used to treat infertility in women. It works by stimulating an increase in the amount of hormones that support the growth and release of a mature egg (ovulation). This medication is not recommended for women whose ovaries no longer make eggs properly