Out of Hiding

Hi everyone. Sorry I have been MIA from this blog. To be honest I havn't exactly known where to go from here with the blog.... I have made all my weight loss goals and don't really think I will be losing much more. Plus, the TTC (trying to conceive) portion of my journey can sometimes get to be a bit TMI. After thinking about it a lot over the last few weeks I have decided it is best to just keep up the blog and be honest about our journey the same as I have been all along the way. This may mean I am sharing information that you don't understand or simply don't care to know. So, please.... if you have questions- ASK THEM! If you don't want to know about our efforts in TTC- DON'T READ! hahaha!

So, here is the scoop on what has been going on..... last cycle was our first back to trying/not avoiding pregnancy. I actually ovulated, which is HUGE for me. In our four years of trying to have a baby, we could count on two hands the amount of times I have ovulated and most of those occurred in the first year and resulted in pregnancy. (In case you don't know.... we had multiple miscarriages before finding out I had complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia.) In the nearly two years since finishing up the hormone therapy to treat the hyperplasia I only had ONE confirmed ovulation. ONE. That cycle, I did the highest dose of clomid (a fertility med) for EIGHT days (the typical treatment is five days), ovulated much later than I should have, was on progesterone supplements (progesterone is the hormone women produce in the luteal phase after ovulation) and still only had a progesterone level of 8 when checked mid luteal phase. This did indicate ovulation, but the Doctors prefer to see a number over 15 when medicated. ANYWAY, I gave you all that info just so you would have information for comparison to this past cycle... I ovulated on cycle day 19, which is well within normal ranges and my progesterone levels were a whopping 47.3!! And that was without progesterone supplements in the luteal phase! WooHoo!! I was soooooooooooooo excited and all my TTC friends were CONVINCED my eggo was preggo! LOL! I was really hoping I was because that would have been a FABULOUS gift to give to Aaron and our families. Alas... my dear aunt flow showed up and had to ruin the party.

Right now I am once again smack dab in the middle of my luteal phase which means..... (are you all paying attention and catching the lingo yet?? LOL) I ovulated again! And actually.... I ovulated on Christmas eve or early Christmas morning. Well, at least.... that is what my chart indicates. I guess I should (quickly) explain charting? What I (and hundreds or other women who are TTC) do is pretty simple. I take my temperature every morning before I get out of bed. The resting temperature of a women in the follicular phase (prior to ovulation) is less than it is in the luteal phase (post ovulation). By charting my temperature every day I am able to see when and if I ovulated. That said... I am not completely convinced I ovulated because my temps are all over the place and I am not having typical post-ovulation symptoms. I have not done a mid luteal phase blood draw to check on my progesterone levels simply because I do not have orders for the blood work from my Doctor. But... if my aunt flow comes to visit again in the next week, that will confirm ovulation. If she doesn't... you guessed it.... I didn't or I'm pregnant! (quick lesson on women's health.... a women only menstruates if she ovulates. Bleeding while on hormonal birth control is NOT menstruation. That is a withdrawal bleed brought on when the synthetic progesterone hormones are stopped.) So, the future is yet to be seen at this point. I'm just pretty excited that my body seems to be working and getting with the program!

One last thing... on the weight loss front. I am currently floating between 189 lb and 193 lb and now wear a size 12/14 or l/xl. I feel really good. :-)

oh- and here are my charts from the last two months so you can see what I am talking about! LOL