Some updates and stuff

Ahhh... it's been three weeks since my last acupuncture appointment and I got to go today. I needed it. I was feeling so... Eeyore this morning, and anxious on top of that, but I feel a lot more mellow now. I actually fell asleep for a few minutes during my treatment, so I guess I was pretty relaxed. My doc gave me a round of moxabustion and some herbs to help wrap up this whole miscarriage business, since I've been bleeding for about 10 days now with no sign of stopping. I hope it works, my lady business is sensitive and needs a break.

I went to the gyn for my follow-up on Friday and things are apparently going as expected. I have to get my blood drawn again this week to make sure my HCG levels are going back to normal and I also have another date with the love wand this Friday. The gyn said not to TTC for at least 2-3 months, and I sort of shrugged at him. He got it and just said well, when I get pregnant again (that's right, when) to just call and they'll get me in for an u/s right away. I do like my doctor, even if I hate going to his office. My acu said to take this month off for sure, but since I've been doing Chinese medicine for a while now my body will recover quicker than it would otherwise, so we can start TTC again after my next period. So I guess we'll mostly try to 'avoid' this month (or 6-8 weeks as the case may be), if I ever stop bleeding that is.

I had a pretty nice weekend. Saturday was my friend T's bachelorette party, we went go-kart racing and then had drinks afterwards. I also finally bought shoes for both weddings; I've been so out of it lately I completely forgot I needed to get those! Sunday hubs and I went to the air show with a couple friends and that was fun. Afterwards we indulged in a little more retail therapy. Both of our wardrobes are in serious need of updating, so now we each have a few more things to work with. I don't know about you but sometimes I literally get depressed over how sad my clothing options are!

This week is going to be a crazy one between follow-up tests, wedding preparations, my FIL's birthday tomorrow, and on top of it all my grandmother is in the hospital with heart problems. Please keep her in your prayers, she's getting up there in age so I really hope this is not "it." :(

I don't think I ever fully expressed how grateful I am to everyone not only for your wonderful comments over the past couple weeks, but for those of you who posted about me on your blogs (I know there were several of you and I'm sorry I didn't thank each of you individually) to rally even more support, sharing my blog on LFCA, and to those of you who came to show support for someone you didn't even know. I am truly touched, and just wanted to make sure you know how appreciative I am to all of you. Thank you :)

The things we do

I'm sitting at my desk with a still slightly upset stomach (but I am really feeling a LOT better today, thanks for the well-wishes) attempting to take a dose of my balls. I'm not sure I'll make it all the way through. I've been working on swallowing them for about an hour now.

You're wondering why on God's green earth I would subject myself to the balls after spending 2 days with stomach nastiness, and when I'm still not 100% recovered, right? Well here's why: yesterday I think I felt O pains. It's been so long since I felt them for sure that I don't really know if that's what it was, but I think it was. And I thought, "Maybe the balls are working!" But I hadn't taken them since Sunday and I didn't want to ruin my chances, so I very determinedly decided to start up again with them today.

And now I'm moaning quietly at my desk. And still very slowly popping two at a time in my mouth.

Ugh.

Maybe I can convince myself it's not so bad. Really. It's not so bad. Only 24 more to go. Oh my good God, I'm only halfway done???

But no pressure. If I absolutely must stop, I will. 21 left. That's right, I just took 3 at a time! I can totally do this.

Double ugh... those might have been my last 3. Seriously. How can such tiny little things be so hard to swallow??

Standing up seems to help, maybe I should walk around for a minute...

Two more down the hatch. Maybe it's the water that's upsetting my stomach? If I could take them without water I would. Water always hurts my stomach when it's already upset...

If you didn't think I was an idiot the other day, I bet you're changing your mind now, huh?

The balls (And some other pics)

Hey, check me out! I actually remembered to post photos! I figured while I was on a roll, I might as well post some others I've been meaning to show you as well.

First up: BALLS!

Here's the "egg." What'd I tell ya? Looks just like a ping pong ball right? Except for the metallic gold stamp of some Chinese characters of course.

And here's the egg after I cracked it open. You can sorta see the wax coating. Exciting!

And of course, the multitude of black balls. I should have counted sooner, but after I took several I counted and there were still 37 left! I'm thinking there's more like 50 in there. FIFTY!!

Okay, these are the "centerpieces" I put together for my friend A's non-engagement/engagement party. She and the groom wanted nothing resembling wedding-y, but I thought these were festive and also practical! Except that the flower boxes leaked, even though I lined them with plastic bags. Oops!

And finally, here's Atticus with his Easter Bow! He absolutely HATES having anything around his neck, so it was pretty funny watching him try to figure out how to take it off! But it was a HUGE pain getting a photo of both his face and the bow. I have like 30 pictures of his back and side now. (I know, I'm a weird cat lady.)

Have a great night!

ICLW! (And balls.)

It's been several months since the last time I did ICLW, but I'm back! Welcome to those of you who just stumbled upon my little space here! I'm excited to hear from you and also to find some more wonderful blogs to follow :)

My TTC history is listed to the right, and if you want to know where I'm at right now, yesterday's post is pretty descriptive of that.

******************************************

Now I know you're just dying to hear about the balls. So I will tell you.

I had my 2nd acupuncture appointment yesterday and the acupuncturist (Dr. R) told me he'd be giving me some herbs to take home. Sweet! As I was paying on my way out, the assistant says, "He's putting you on the eggs, huh?" Eggs? I thought I was getting herbs! So she takes an "egg" out of a little paper bag and shows it to me. It looks exactly like a ping pong ball. She says, "Now, these are a little hard to swallow..." and then proceeds to laugh at the look of horror that crosses my face. Of course she was only kidding. Turns out the "egg" is basically a round version of a plastic Easter egg, coated in wax. You have to kind of crush it against something hard (e.g. the table) to break the wax and crack open the "egg" to get to the contents - which is a little baggie of about 30 tiny black balls. Those are the herbs.

Whew. For a second there I thought... well, I thought I wouldn't be swallowing these herbs, if ya catch my drift.

I have to take two "eggs" a day (or rather, the contents thereof), once in the morning and once at night, apparently for the next 10 days. No big deal right? Yeah, that's what I thought until I took my first dose. The little herb balls are only about 1/4 inch in diameter, or maybe a bit smaller, but did I mention there are thirty in each dose? I have to swallow them whole, half an hour before breakfast and dinner, with water. Yeah, they're little, but they're also hard, so I can feel them allllll the way down, and sometimes they don't go down so easy! And there are THIRTY! So it takes a while. Then once I've swallowed them all it feels like there's a bunch of rocks in my stomach. (Thirty of them!!!) Mmm. Pleasant.

Well, this morning I took my sweet time taking the herbs, and the "rocks in the stomach" sensation wasn't nearly as bad as it was yesterday, so I think I'm getting the hang of it. Still, I'll be a lot happier when I'm done with them forever. Oh yeah, and if you're wondering what these herbs are supposed to do, so am I. I forgot to ask Dr. R, and when I called later, his assistant didn't know (and didn't seem too inclined to ask). Guess I will just have to wait until next Tuesday to find out.

Happy Hump Day and ICLW everyone! I hope it's a great day!

How it went

Okay, I'm back. My appointment wasn't exactly what I was expecting... although I don't really know exactly what I was expecting...

The doctor was nice, although, again, not exactly what I was expecting! LOL During the consultation he strongly recommended that I see an RE for more testing. He said especially since my mom and sister started perimenopause at 38, that there are more tests that can determine how many more reproductive years I may be looking at. He would also like hubs to have an RE re-evaluate his swimmers, since, he said, some labs tend not to look as closely at them as an RE would. Which I wouldn't be surprised to learn, given our crummy HMO.

Honestly, though, being referred to an RE kind of threw me for a loop. I know this place works closely with some RE's in the area, so I don't know why I was surprised. By no means was he pushy about it, he said talk it over with hubs, it's entirely up to us, we don't have to decide right away, etc. So I'll be talking to hubs about that tonight. He did also say that he thinks TCM will be great for me. But no big revelations or anything.

On with the show. The actual needling wasn't bad at all. He used about 6-10 pins total at various points on my ankles, legs, arms, and one on my belly. I felt a very tiny prick when he first inserted them, and then nothing at all as long as I stayed still. (I wiggled my toes once and felt one on my ankle for a second.) He also did moxabustion, which apparently is supposed to be helpful for endo. Basically it looks like a tiny square piece of cardboard with adhesive on one side and what looks like a quarter inch of a stick of incense sticking out of the other. He lit several and stuck them on my legs and tummy too. That was the only somewhat painful part - I had to tell him when it started to get hot so he could take them off, and I may have waited a tiny bit too long a couple of times! Oops. No burns or anything, it just got hot! At the end he told me he would normally recommend herbs, but since I'm still waiting for AF that we'll hold off on those until next week. Oh, but he did tell me that Royal Jelly was a great supplement, and also suggested green-foods supplements like spirulina or chlorella (blue-green algae I think?).

So what's the verdict? Well, nothing huge! I do feel less tense and anxious than before I went in, less depressed too. And I just noticed my neck is noticeably less sore than it was earlier, so that's pretty darn cool. I'll be going back again next Tuesday; hubs and I unofficially decided to commit to about 6 months, and I want to give it a fair shot.

I guess that's about it unless you have questions :)

Acupuncture and stuff

Funny how I've been wondering about my acupuncture referral and then all this information comes flying at me at once!

The day after I called my GP, I got a voicemail from the acupuncturist saying they'll give me a discount if I decide to come in on my own. Of course I called back! The lady said the initial consultation and workup, which would also probably include a treatment, would be $90. After that they'd work out a package based on my needs, and would be $55 per treatment (not sure how often I'll need to go in though). That's not too bad. She kept emphasizing that the priority would be to get my body in balance so that it can do what it's supposed to do. Well no problem, lady, I'm totally down for that!

Then I got home and the letter from the ins co had finally arrived. Basically there is no way they'll cover the acu. They ONLY cover it for TWO reasons: 1. severe nausea caused by pregnancy or some other thing I can't remember, or 2. knee or hip pain caused by some other thing I can't remember. Hubs thinks I should appeal anyway, but I think it would be a waste of time. They spelled out in the letter what's covered and I can't even get coverage for my NECK pain, which is totally legit. So anyway, I'm thinking I may try going on my own in a few months, after taxes are paid off (yes, we owe!! LAME). And at that point I intend to shop around and see if anyone else will offer a better price (nowhere shady though). I figure the alternative medicine providers might be struggling in this economy so maybe they'll be more willing to cut a deal. It's worth a shot!

In other news... there is no other news. This is my second C drinking the raspberry leaf tea from CD1 to O. I'm not sure if it's helping my cramps or if the lap just actually worked, but I'm in less pain than I used to be, so that's good. I've kind of given up thinking that green tea is helping my CM, since I used to get tons of EWCM and lately its been MIA even though I drink green tea daily. Oh well. There is always PreSeed, which I need to order before next C when I take the Clomid. Thanks for reminding me :)

This C may end up being a bust because hubs is going to be gone for a few days right before O. We'll see how it works out but I'm not stressing over it. I'm just trying to find some of my friends to keep me company while he's gone! I don't like being alone. At least I'll have a new front door with a deadbolt to keep me safe though!

Sorry for my lazy writing. I'm just waiting for this day to end so Friday can come and usher in the weekend!