CD 7 and CD 8

CD 7- Vegas- Where the babies are made

We made it! Our flight was about 4 hours and we killed most of the time playing games on my Ipad.  We picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel, Element by Westin in Summerlin.  It is about 10-15 minutes from the strip, which is perfect for us.  The hotel is very modern, eco-friendly, has a fabulous complementary breakfast, pool, and kitchen in every room.  Perfect for an extended stay.  Pres Obama even stayed here in January.  If it is good enough for the pres, it’s good enough for us.

CD 8- First ultrasound and blood work

I had blood work (b/w) scheduled for 8:45am and an ultrasound (u/s) scheduled for 10:15am.  Of course, I woke up at 5:30!  Ever since my babycation has started I have not been able to sleep in past 5:30.  Granted 5:30 is 7:30 at home, but still I was hoping to be good and rested these two weeks. 

The blood work was for the purpose of Estradiol levels.  When we arrived at Dr. Sher’s office it looked as though we were the first people there for the day.  I guess I had envisioned a waiting room full of women, because Dr. Sher said there were a lot of people cycling in June. 

After getting my blood taken and then waiting for about an hour it was finally my turn to undress from the waist down and kick my heels back in the stirrups.  I have been contemplating all of the possible outcomes of this appointment: not enough follicles, follicles not being the right size, high Estradiol level, low Estradiol level, thin lining, too thick lining…the possibilities of things going wrong just seemed endless!

Sher came in the room and both my husband and I were taken aback by how big of a man he is.  As in tall and muscular.  He was super nice and gave me his cell phone number again and told me if I need him, to call him and that he cannot help me if I don’t call him!  It’s almost like he knew how much I dislike talking on the phone haha.  We got down to business quickly and Dr. Sher was exclaiming (in his British accent) “What a beauuuutiful lining! Oh, just beautiful!”  It was 13mm and triple layered and he pointed out all of the layers to us.

I was positive that my left ovary would be the big producer of this IVF cycle because I have been having a lot of cramping on that side.  To my surprise both sides had about the same amount of follicles.  Here was the breakdown- Right:  15 x 7, 14, 10, 9 (total:10) Left: 16, 15 x3, 14, 12, 10, 9x2 (total: 9).  Doc said that we should put all of our money on 15 if we went to the casinos today because we have 10 15mm follicles. Dr Sher called the cycle thus far “textbook” which I felt very proud of! I told him that we never get good news when we go to the doctor.

He said that by the looks of things we would probably be ready to trigger (HCG) on Wednesday.  I stopped by Nurse Linda’s desk before leaving so that we could get our new calendar.   She said my E2 level was 931 and we would continue stims tonight and I would be coming back tomorrow.

J Bird and I were so happy after our doctor’s visit.  It was a lot of relief.  I had prepared him that sometimes cycles get cancelled for various reasons and usually we would know if it was cancelled by the first appointment.  I also felt like my diet has been paying off and my lack of gluten, dairy and meat has helped to grow a beauuutiful lining! Ha.  It is hard to stick to a diet when it is difficult to see the results.  I am not on this diet to lose weight, just to reap the benefits on my insides which obviously can’t be seen, so having a great lining and lots of follicles was a lovely (delayed) reinforcement for me.

Protcol and Endo diet

Last week I talked to my nurse and she gave me my protocol.  I am not sure what type it is but it is apparently a pretty light protocol.  Which is awesome considering the price range of drugs was $2000-10,000 and mine was on the very low end.  (Pretty large range, eh?)  Insurance covered the Progesterone and Folic Acid which only amounted to $400, but considering what they pay for IVF itself (a big fat $0), I'll take it!

We have been discussing ways to cut back on our spending since we did not have any time to plan for the very large payment we are going to make in 4 days.  J Bird called Comcast and got us a sweet deal taking $30 off our bills and giving us about 20 more channels (Oxygen yay!)  Other than the necessary bills, our largest expense each month is groceries.  We both love to eat and to eat healthy at that.  It's not cheap to buy all that good stuff so I started trying to make one (two if absolutely necessary) trip to the grocery store a week.  If I forgot to buy something at the store we try to do without it because it seems as though I can never get out of the grocery store with just the items on my list which equals more moolah.

Around March I had completely given up on the endo diet.  It was too hard to stick to and I wasn't seeing any difference.  3 weeks ago I had a moment.  I was volunteering at a baseball game for the company I work for, just trying to get our name out there.  With it being Autism month the baseball team agreed to "feature" our company on their scoreboard between innings.  A girl I work with was there with her adorable 4 month old and she told me that she went GF and vegan to increase her fertility.  And obviously it worked for her!

I decided to really stick to the diet this time around.  I made it a little easier on myself by only focusing on gluten-free, dairy free (except for Greek yogurt), vegetarian and limiting soy but not excluding it all together.  Trying to start this diet in the spring time is a bazillion times easier that attempting to start it around the holiday season.  With all the fresh fruits and vegetables in season I have not been so tempted to fall off the wagon.

My food staples have been; mean green juice, Chex cereal w/almond milk, fruit shakes, grilled eggplant, spaghetti squash, grilling yellow and green zucchini, mushrooms and peppers, salad, Naked juices, guacamole, almond thins and for a very yummy snack Larabars (which I made home-made today).  So far, so good! The only time I knowingly cheated was communion this past Sunday.  Boy, oh boy did that Hawaiian bread taste good.

Mean Green Juice

I have juiced mainly fruits to this point, but this weekend I made a green juice.  It was delicious! It definitely looked like Jersey shore water, but had a very sweet taste with a kick of ginger.

Mean Green Juice (It doesn't look so mean :)
3 kale leaves
2 celery stalks
1/2 cucumber
2 green apples
1/2 lemon
1 inch ginger

The actual recipe called for twice the amount kale, cucumber and lemon I have listed but it made more that enough juice for me.

Enjoy!

Getting back on the wagon

After all my Bah-humbuging we packed ourselves up and went up North to visit my fam.  We visited my family over about 5 days and it was really great to spend some quality time just hanging out and it was especially exciting to see my nephew.  We have seen him about every 3-4 months and it is crazy how much those grow over those few months! Last time we saw him he was like an inspector, curiously watching our every move and only smiling if we worked really, really hard for it.  This time he lavished us with smiles and even cocked his head to one side and shrugged his shoulders while smiling.  Completely mugging and we completely loved it.

 Our little party animal!

I can safely say I fell waaaay off the wagon in regards to my diet healthstyle.  There was gluten, dairy, and chocolate being offered everywhere when usually I don’t come into contact with all this food.  And really, who can pass up a Chinese buffet in the middle of an Amish market?? Not me!  My brother and his fiancé did make a really good gluten- free meal with homemade lentil soup and vegetable k bobs with chicken and shrimp one day while we visited with them.

We received a juicer and a blender for xmas and J Bird and I were super excited to start mixing up some fruits and vegetables.  We purchased some protein called Amazing Meal, which is soy-free, dairy-free and gluten-free.  It definitely adds a certain...flavor to my smoothies, but it has pretty much every healthy ingredient I was looking for.  It includes: wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa & kale, chlorophyll, antioxidants and essential fatty acids and 10 grams of complete protein, 6 grams of fiber in every serving.

Even though I have only been trying out the endo-diet for a few months, it has gotten a lot easier to find a variety of good foods.  At first I loaded up on only fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds because I just wasn’t sure what was safe to eat.  It seemed that I could stick to a vegan diet, but then any meat alternative seemed to be made of soy.  I have learned to navigate pretty well and I am (usually) content with my meals.

Here is a run-down of what I eat during a typical day:

Breakfast: Chex gluten-free cereal and Almond milk, loose leaf Green Tea

Second Breakfast (cause I need two! Usually after a workout so don’t judge me!): Juice with protein.  I have been experimenting with different fruits but the one I like is; 1 apple, 1 orange, 1 kiwi, piece of ginger, handful of strawberries and blueberries and half a scoop of protein

Lunch: I usually graze over lunch because of my work schedule I will just eat between meetings: Greek yogurt (an exception to the no-dairy rule because it helps to balance the flora in the stomach), homemade trail mix (peanuts, cashews, raisins, Craisins and sunflower seeds), coconut water and a banana.

Dinner: Progresso gluten-free soup and a salad (lettuce, spinach, Ken’s HM, egg, cucumber, tomato, and tortilla strips).

So as you can see I’m not making any fabulous meals, but I feel like I am getting a pretty good variety of foods and textures.

Gluten-free granola bars recipe

Today I was headed to work, but my eyes kept watering, I was sneezing and overall I just felt like crap.  I didn't want to pass on any kind of sickness for the holidays, so I cancelled my appts and headed back home.  To pass the time at home I made some gluten-free granola bars.  They turned out pretty yummy!

Gluten-free Granola Bars
3 cups gf rolled oats
2/3 cup oat bran
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup blue agave nectar (can substitute with maple syrup)
6 tbsp melted I can't believe it's not butter stick
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 unsweetened coconut flakes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
Mix all of the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl.
Mix dry and liquid together.  Add agave sweetener if mixture is too dry.  Try for a happy medium that is not too sticky and not too dry.
PS- use any dried fruit, nuts or seeds that you like.  Aim for 2-3 cups total.
Grease a 13" x 9" x2" pan.
Pour granola into pan.
Push granola down so that it will bind together.  It is helpful to put a piece of plastic-wrap on and then press down.
Cook for 25-30 minutes.
Mixture may be soft when it comes out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools.

Cut and enjoy!

Endo- diet

I have taken on the Endo diet since November 1st.  No dairy,  no soy, no gluten, no red meat, only organic meat, lots of fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds.  I've gotten most of my information for the diet from this book: Endometriosis: A key to healing through Nutrition.


Of course, I have had my cheat days.  Sometimes we go to Subway and I cannot resist getting a flatbread sandwich with pepper jack cheese and chicken.  And the holidays are pretty tough, as I make no special requests for food items.  I am fine to eat some of these items, but I definitely notice when I eat gluten.  I get a sharp pain in my lower abdomen.

I wanted to start this blog for a few reasons; 1) There are so many other women in the same exact position as me and I find relief in reading their blogs as well and 2) I can use this as a source to vent.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to explain your feelings to friends and family and being told "It will happen!" "Stop stressing".  I know they are trying to be reassuring, but it just doesn't help!  I'd rather someone just listen and say "Yeah, that does suck".

I am hoping to use this blog mainly to vent, relate to others and post some new endo recipes.

Have a wonderful day!