Day-o-Doctors

Beware. This post contains details about my internal girl organs. Proceed with caution. :)

I started yesterday at my primary doctor's office to find out more about my thyroid. She said that she thinks most if not all of the symptoms I have and seem to have acquired the last month are probably due to my thyroid. It was such a relief to hear that I'm not as crazy as I thought and when I was trying to run, I felt like my body was being dragged backwards and it was just too exhausting. The only choice I have is to take the medication because the supplements to treat it are not tested for safe use in pregnancy. She was very nice, understanding, and even wrote out all of the information down that I would need when I got home. She printed out everything I would need to take to Iowa City.

We then headed to Iowa City. That place is impressive. So well organized and coordinated. My type A personality was a bit giddy that it was so well orchestrated. I also was put at ease by how incredibly nice the people there were. I have high standards about customer service and they were great.

We saw a total of 3 people while we were there. The first one was a nurse and after I answered all of her questions, she said, "You are going to be bounding with energy once you get started on this medicine". That made me very happy. Then we saw a med student to get more fertility related questions answered and then the PA-C, Elizabeth came in...And we learned a lot. She works not only in OBGYN, but in Reproductive Endocrinology, which is right up my alley, given my recent thyroid development.

My OB in Waterloo told me that I had PCOS but my labs came back normal and that was not expected. People with PCOS have higher male hormones. I asked Elizabeth to look back to December 2009 and see what my OB doctor found when they tested my thyroid then. It was 4.4, which she feels is on the high side of normal. She said for ideal fertility, you want it at 2.5. She said she is not convinced that I have PCOS because you can have cystic ovaries without it. She wrote out the information on PCOS (you have to meet 2 out of 3 criteria for a diagnosis) and said we would go back to this once my thyroid is under control, because it could be causing my irregular cycles.

She also wanted me to switch fertility medicine. Clomid thins out the lining of your uterus and she feels like that might be inhibiting me now. (The egg "needs a nice fluffy bed to implant") So we are switching to a drug called Femara which is used to treat breast cancer. A side effect they found was it induces ovulation so they are started to use it. Also, Clomid stays in your system for 6 weeks (which could be contributing to why I have pain so long throughout the month) but Femara does it's job and leaves within 48 hours.

We are to take a month off of trying until my thyroid is under control. My test was 7.61 and she said that for ideal fertility, they want it at 2.5 or lower. She said (as Laura had already educated me) that I would be at high risk of miscarriage with my level at 7. She said people with high thyroid levels get pregnant and they are able to manage but ideally it would be under the 2.5 mark.

I am to go in for labs in 6 weeks to see where my thyroid level is. If it's improved, then we can start the Femara. We also are going to do the IUI method at that time and we can do that here at my regular OB's office.

The other option is to do Femara with some inject-able medications and the IUI which has nearly the same success rate without the inject-ables. So we skipping the extra drugs for now.

The 3rd option is IVF, which of course we are hoping not to get to.

I also was nervous about a medication I take occasionally for palpitations or when I exercise and my heart rate gets higher than 185. (Several years ago I was diagnosed with an elevated heart rate, but have no heart problems.) The medication is not safe for pregnancy, but there may be times I will need to take it. She told me that there is a safe alternative and gave me that just in case.

All in all it was a good day. Brad came with me and even asked some great questions. Basically we feel like we've been trying and doing all of the right things and now know we really had minimal chance to hit the jackpot. I actually even feel a bit relieved about taking a month break so my mind can settle down and catch up.

With my thyroid medicine, I should start feeling better in the next 1-2 weeks so I am very hopeful about that.

Thanks to everyone who has called, texted and wrote to me over the last couple of weeks. I have great people in my life who are supportive at just the right times. This has truly been one of the most miserable months I have ever had. The feeling that you want to get better and have control of your emotions and feelings and not being able to at all, is one of the most horrible places to be. I'm thankful that I have friends and family who didn't try to give me another thing to try or tell me to "get out and have fun" or tell me "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be". When someone is in their darkest hours, they just want to be wrapped up in support while they walk the journey. Hugs, calls, and supportive words...That's what helps a person heal from this madness; not not trying to give them ways to "feel better". Believe me, I have tried MANY things to try and make me feel better...Don't forget, I still visit my counselor :).

I feel a lot less crazy than I have the past few weeks. It was great to have confirmation that everything I have been feeling has been a medical situation that apparently has been brewing for a couple of years. Some doctors may have written off what I was going through solely as depression, tried to drug me up and sent me on my merry way. I also have great doctor friends (Sara, Sarah and Kelly) who have set the standard for what I will accept in a doctor and for our medical care. That paid off. The doctors who treat me now are wonderful..always digging to a root cause for me, rather than peg me in a hole with other patients they have seen. At times like this, it was priceless.

Laura has also been a great help, having this thyroid deal her whole life, and she educated me about a lot of things.

I am off this weekend because I am working 2 extra days next week. I can't wait to have a normal weekend that will hopefully help me just reset and get back to myself a bit while we wait for the Synthroid to work it's little magic.

I also told my boss that after next week, I cannot work 2nd shift for a few months because of all of this. I need regular sleep. I told him I will help out during the week, during the day, but I need to draw a line at 2nd shift for just a while. I feel a little bad about setting boundaries when the team needs help, but it's time for others to get creative and suck up some 2nd shift while I need to take care of myself. I have helped all of them out when they had family or personal things come up.

So, Happy Friday to us.