So I've kind of been carried away in the whole process of becoming a gestational carrier. My life has been filled with meetings, phone calls, appointments, and paperwork, on top of my already busy life of wife, mom to 3 small kids, and Preschool Director. It's been hard to find time to blog. I've also started a private online journal about my journey as a carrier, and barely have time for that. BUT...here are the cliff notes to catch up to this point:
I was matched with a family! They live in Louisville, KY. They have a little boy, 4 days younger than my little girl, who they used a carrier for. The mom tried and tried but was never able to conceive even through invetro. They want a sibling for their little boy.
I started fertility meds and my body cooperated flawlessly! We had our first embryo transfer on January 14. We found out on January 25 that it didn't take. Very sad and disappinting, but we are getting back up and trying again.
I went back to the fertility doctors this past Monday and they found a rather large cyst. I guess it's a pretty common side effect of the fertility meds I'd been on, but we can't proceed as long as it is there.
The family has decided to harvest new embryos and switch to a fertility doctor in Cincinnati. So the cyst is pretty inconsequential at this point. We have some new hoops to jump through at the new doctor's office, and we have to wait for the mom's body to be ready for an egg retrieval and for embryos to be made and frozen. We have our first appointment at the new fertility group on Tuesday, February 19.
In other news, I ran my first official 5K in November. It was quite an accomplishment for me! I was pretty proud of myself. I ran the whole thing without stopping, and it was a very hilly course, which I was not very prepared for. I ran a few more times after that, but really stopped running altogether by about Christmas. I had started taking fertility drugs and knew the embryo transfer was going to happen soon. I kind of went into survival mode and have just done my best to maintain my current weight, which I've managed to do with counting calories alone and no exercise.
I needed to run (or do something) to get myself over the plateau, but honestly, I don't enjoy it and it's really hard to find time for it in my busy life. I do want to remain healthy, watch what I eat, and maintain healthy weight, but that's enough of a chore. Maybe one day I'll be able to exercise just for the fun of it, but it really was just a necessary evil and something I don't feel like I have to do anymore, especially with the process of becoming pregnant being eminent. I want to stay healthy during pregnancy and not gain a crazy amount of weight. I am committed to doing that. I'm glad I ran and accomplished my goal of a real 5K, but running really isn't for me. It's hard on my body and I'm really not very good at it.
So right now, we wait...
Friday, February 8, 2013
The Test
On Saturday I went for allergy testing. This has been something I have wanted to do for years. I've known since I was a kid that I have allergies. Over the years I've been able to pinpoint that I am allergic to most living things (other than humans): grass, plants, cats, some dogs, etc. This was confirmed through my allergy testing, which was quite an ordeal!
The process starts with not being allowed to take any allergy medication of any kind (Claratin, eye drops, inhaler, etc.) for 5 days before the testing. I was familiar with the testing process and knew that I would be injected with several types of potential allergens and the reaction to the injection would determine my level of allergy to each item being tested. After 14 injections (not even half way done), I started feeling dizzy and lightheaded. I was not bothered by the shots, but have a history of passing out when it comes to needles, so I informed the nurse about how I was feeling. She stopped to let the feeling pass. Next thing I knew, I had passed out. Seriously? I've birthed 3 children. One of them was 9 lbs 11 oz! Another one was a c-section delivery. But I pass out over some stupid little needles. Give me a break! So embarrassing!
I was given juice and crackers & transfered to a reclining position to finish the rest of my testing. I was diagnosed as mildly and moderately allergic to several things, but I am severly allergic to grass. As soon as I got in the car to drive home I started having a HORRIBLE reaction to the injections. All of the skin on my body was terribly itchy. My right eye swelled almost shut (I was wearing contacts, which made it even worse). My throat became incredibly sore. I could not stop sneezing and my nose was pouring -- I mean literally POURING -- snot. (And, as a side note, I was driving Scott's car which had no tissues in it...AWESOME!) The best part of the whole thing is, I couldn't take any allergy medication after the testing until the next morning. Some of the injection sites were circled and I was supposed to watch for a delayed reaction, or swelling outside the circled area. If I took allergy medication and I did have a delayed reaction, it wouldn't have been detected. So I layed in bed and suffered through the rest of the day.
They suggested I come in and do a grass panel to determine better exactly what kinds of grass I'm more or less allergic to. This will help them better taylor make my allergy shots for me. We'll see about that. My understanding is I would not be able to take allergy medication 5 days prior to that and would probably not be able to take any after it's over until the next day for the delayed reaction thing. We'll see about that. While I'd like to finish this process and do it right -- it is only one day of my life afterall, there's another part of me that is not sure I need my allergy shots that taylor made for me if I have to go through that again. I start allergy shots on Friday.
I blog about this only because it is terribly ironic, as my sister-in-law pointed out, that I am so severly allergic to grass, and the name of my blog is The Tallest Blade Of Grass. Too funny!
The process starts with not being allowed to take any allergy medication of any kind (Claratin, eye drops, inhaler, etc.) for 5 days before the testing. I was familiar with the testing process and knew that I would be injected with several types of potential allergens and the reaction to the injection would determine my level of allergy to each item being tested. After 14 injections (not even half way done), I started feeling dizzy and lightheaded. I was not bothered by the shots, but have a history of passing out when it comes to needles, so I informed the nurse about how I was feeling. She stopped to let the feeling pass. Next thing I knew, I had passed out. Seriously? I've birthed 3 children. One of them was 9 lbs 11 oz! Another one was a c-section delivery. But I pass out over some stupid little needles. Give me a break! So embarrassing!
I was given juice and crackers & transfered to a reclining position to finish the rest of my testing. I was diagnosed as mildly and moderately allergic to several things, but I am severly allergic to grass. As soon as I got in the car to drive home I started having a HORRIBLE reaction to the injections. All of the skin on my body was terribly itchy. My right eye swelled almost shut (I was wearing contacts, which made it even worse). My throat became incredibly sore. I could not stop sneezing and my nose was pouring -- I mean literally POURING -- snot. (And, as a side note, I was driving Scott's car which had no tissues in it...AWESOME!) The best part of the whole thing is, I couldn't take any allergy medication after the testing until the next morning. Some of the injection sites were circled and I was supposed to watch for a delayed reaction, or swelling outside the circled area. If I took allergy medication and I did have a delayed reaction, it wouldn't have been detected. So I layed in bed and suffered through the rest of the day.
They suggested I come in and do a grass panel to determine better exactly what kinds of grass I'm more or less allergic to. This will help them better taylor make my allergy shots for me. We'll see about that. My understanding is I would not be able to take allergy medication 5 days prior to that and would probably not be able to take any after it's over until the next day for the delayed reaction thing. We'll see about that. While I'd like to finish this process and do it right -- it is only one day of my life afterall, there's another part of me that is not sure I need my allergy shots that taylor made for me if I have to go through that again. I start allergy shots on Friday.
I blog about this only because it is terribly ironic, as my sister-in-law pointed out, that I am so severly allergic to grass, and the name of my blog is The Tallest Blade Of Grass. Too funny!
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