Recovery from a c-section

Day of surgery

Once the surgery was over I was wheeled up to the recovery room. The spinal started wearing off and I started to feel my incision. I had tons of shivering (even though I wasn't cold) and teeth chattering. That seems to be my m.o. when I come out of surgery. After about two hours I was moved up to my room in the maternity ward. I didn't have a ton of pain, but I also wasn't moving around. The nurses put compression boots on my legs that filled up every couple of minutes with air- that was to make sure I didn't get a blood clot. I also had different machines hooked up to me checking my blood pressure, oxygen level, etc. so there was a lot of beeping and hissing going on in our room.  I also had an IV for hydration and pain meds and a huge pad between my legs for bleeding.

CP and Izzy slept in the room with me. Izzy was up crying most of the night and needed to be held by one of us at all times so CP and I got about an hour and a half of sleep that night. I couldn't leave the bed so I wasn't a tremendous help and I was trying to breastfeed every three hours. We knew Iz was at least getting something as she had some wet diapers.

Day 2

The next day a nurse helped me stand up fairly early on which was to help with my recovery. The pain of getting from a laying down position to sitting and then to standing was nothing like the pain after my fibroid surgery. I'm guessing it has to do with where the doctors made the incision- even though it is much longer than any of my other 5 scars, it isn't used as much for that movement. I was surprised and happy that I wasn't going to feel like my insides were ripping apart again because that was not fun.

I also had both the catheter and the compression boots taken out/off this day. Nurses had to help me to the bathroom where I got the oh-so-glamorous mesh underwear and huge pad. Iz got checked by the pediatrician (she looks great!) and I got checked by a doctor (your incision is perfect!).

This day was a bit rough as I did my best to recover from major surgery and battle no sleep. My pain levels weren't too bad though. I was allowed to shower but chose to wait until the next day.  When my parents came to visit, they offered to hold Izzy while we took naps. This was super helpful and even my 30 minutes of sleep during the day felt great. 

I was still trying to breast feed every three hours and it really was hit or miss. One nurse gave me nipple shells which helped to bring out my nipples prior to feeding.  The nice thing about a different nurse every 8 hours or so is that they all have different tips and tricks, but at times consistency would have been nice. We only had two nurses that were not super helpful the entire stay which was good.

That night CP and I did a better job of sleeping while the other person held Izzy, but it was still a rough night.

Day 3

This morning we got to meet with a lactation consultant.  She warned us that starting on this day, babies tend to get very frustrated because they are hungry and your milk hasn't come in yet.  She advised me to start pumping until I saw milk, then to get Izzy to latch.  This definitely helped because Izzy was almost inconsolable when she was hungry and getting her to latch when she was that angry was difficult.

I felt better and could move around the room, but was warned not to overdo it.  I also got to take a shower which felt down right luxurious. 

Randomly, my legs filled with fluid during the day which the nurses told me was normal.  You get a lot of fluid pumped into you during surgery and when that is mixed with starting to walk around, most people blow up.  My feet were more swollen at this time than they were during pregnancy- it was really gross.

The hospital food was pretty disgusting and CP was getting bored with eating in the cafeteria, so that night we ordered sushi.  It was awesome and totally worth it.

That night Izzy's weight dropped down to 7 lb, 4 oz (down from her birth weight of 8 lb, 3oz), or about 10.4%.  While up to 10% of weight loss is normal, the extra .4% didn't make the nurses happy.  No one tried to push formula on me though and they could tell that my milk was about to come in and her weight would start to increase.

Day 4

We were doing well as a group and had the option of going home this day, but we chose to stay another day and I'm glad we did.  Although the constant (every 2-3 hour) check-ins by nurses and aides were annoying, the extra breastfeeding tips were really helpful.  That day my milk came in and I was very excited about my ridiculous fun bags.

The best news of the day was that Harry and Biff have deflated and will hopefully be retreating in the coming days or weeks.

Day 5

We were warned that discharge would take a while and that we would be waiting and the nurse was right.  We had our pediatrician visit and an OB visit to check up on me and Izzy and got some more helpful tips from a different lactation consultant.  She advised me to start wearing a nipple shield while breastfeeding to keep Izzy awake.  The shield would hit the roof of Izzy's mouth, thus keeping her awake for longer periods of time while feeding.

After getting home, I weighed myself.  I weighed 10 lbs less than my last weigh in at OB's office at 38 weeks 1 day (not sure how close OB's office and home scale are though). The fluid build up in my legs is not helping, I have to admit that i was hoping for a bigger drop off.

Today I also had my first little poop which wasn't too bad.

I do have some pain in my uterus when peeing, which my doctor attributed to them moving around my organs during surgery.  This is normal and should go away in a few days.

Day 7 

Down another 6 lbs!  I had a slightly more satisfying poop, but I am still constipated.

Day 8 

Amazingly enough, I seem to have stopped bleeding!  I'm only taking Motrin at this point as the Norco results in constipation.  My only pain is when I pee which is odd because the pain is mainly close to my butt.

Day 9

Another day of no bleeding and I'm down another 6 pounds!  At this point I'm only 3 pounds away from my first OB appointment weight/pre-BFP weight.  Not sure what my weight was before I started on the fertility meds and I really need to lose a lot more. Let's hope healthy eating and breastfeeding can keep the scale dropping even though I can't exercise just yet.  I'm still having pain when I pee which can't be normal.  I'm looking forward to my OB appointment.  The fluid in my feet and ankles is finally much better. Shoes that were tight on discharge day are now okay to wear.  I still have nice sock lines though.

Day 13

Today I'm back to my pre-BFP weight but boy is my stomach still soft. Stomach skin seems to be pulling back up so that I have less of a pouch, but stretch marks are still angry and red (albeit less red). Gas is not as much of a problem today.  Bleeding has started back up again.

Today I met with my OB and asked her about the peeing pain.  She seems to think that I might have an internal hemorrhoid so she gave me a steroid that I get to stick where the sun don't shine.  (My OB called on Monday and let me know that I actually have a UTI, so I am now working on getting rid of that with antibiotics while not getting thrush at the same time).

Day 14
It has now been two weeks so I am officially cleared to drive, walk up and down the stairs as much as I want, and to start walking for exercise (too bad it's FREEZING out!).  I am still not allowed to carry anything heavy (basically just Izzy), but it will be nice to start to do more around the house again.

Third trimester recap

With just two days left until my C-section, I am going to assume that I can talk about the third trimester without missing out on anything exciting.  Of course I say that and I am totally going to jinx myself!!

First off, this trimester went by SO QUICKLY.  

Various pregnancy symptoms that occurred throughout the trimester included needing Tums after almost every single meal- often more than just two Tums to fully calm my stomach down.  Stairs often leave me out of breath, so I have just tried to walk up them a bit slower than usual.  I have been able to keep taking long walks with Buster, but about halfway through the trimester I started having to walk slower and would get Braxton Hicks contractions throughout the walk.  Constantly feeling hot this trimester, even if it was only 60 degrees in the house, was insane.  

During my first trimester I had a few black hairs on my chin that seemed to grow back just days after plucking them.  Thanks long-term Lupron shots!  The hair on my head grew really quickly as well.  During the second trimester the rest of my hair on my body and head grew quickly, but not the unwanted hairs on my face.  For the third trimester it was like I was back in the first trimester- legs, bikini area and underarms grew slowly, but the chin hairs were back in business.  :-/

As you guys know, I have been rather busty for a while now.  This is something that only got worse with pregnancy.  When we were little, my mom used tell me and my sister to "Check the deck" when we dropped food on our chest.  I swear I am not a gross eater but I often had to check the deck during this pregnancy (a couple of times I had to check the belly!) as soup or whatever I was eating had dropped onto my body.  Can't take me anywhere!!

At the beginning of the third trimester I had an awful six-day bout with a migraine.  Thank goodness there were baby-friendly drugs that I could take to finally relieve the pain.  I only had to take them twice again the rest of the trimester.

Starting at 30 weeks I spotted my first stretch marks on the bottom of my belly.  As of today there are more of them and they are reaching higher up my stomach, but they are still only on my belly.

At 33 weeks I found two black dots on my right nipple.  A quick check by my OB and it was determined they were normal.

At 34 weeks my engagement ring had to come off.  I'm looking forward to putting BOTH of my rings back on.

Biff decided to join Harry's party at 35 weeks. He still sucks on occasion, but didn't end up inviting any more friends.  I look forward to his and Harry's demise soon.   

At 35 1/2 weeks CP finally got to see the squirming belly.  He was transfixed as my belly moved up, around, and all over the place.  (He had felt the baby move before but hadn't paid too much attention to actually seeing it.)

That same weekend CP and I decided to tackle our last home improvement project before the baby arrived. 

Every single OB visit I have had to give a urine sample.  Every single visit I have somehow managed to get some on my clothes or hands.  Until 36 weeks.  I think that I finally have it down!  Maybe I should have taken more OPK and pregnancy tests- I would have been better at this!

Around 37 weeks- HOLY SORENESS.  Sore in thighs, hips, and lady bits area.  Waddling some days, not waddling other days.  I am the most sore when I first get out of bed in the morning or when I have been sitting for a while and first get up.  This has continued for the past two weeks and isn't super comfortable.  But to be honest, I just try to roll with it as much as possible.  It is what it is.  I shouldn't be sailing through the last few weeks of a pregnancy because that wouldn't be normal.

I'm pretty excited to be having this baby soon because I was too cheap to buy a winter jacket.  I didn't really think that Chicago would not only have snow twice already this fall, but also to have highs in only the 20s!  I have been walking around with my dad's fleece that completely zips up with the outer layer of my ski jacket that only buttons halfway down.  Yep, this is how I have been rolling this month.  It's okay, you can laugh- my sister certainly did!!

Finally, don't tell my doctor but I have been trying not to drink too much water towards the end of the night so that I don't have to get up every hour to pee.  I still get up every 2-3 hours so I am not completely dehydrated, but it is still ridiculous.  I'm looking forward to not having a little person pressing on my bladder 24/7.

All of this being said, pregnancy has been an amazing and wonderful experience.  To see my body go through a huge transformation has been crazy and I feel SO, SO lucky that it has gone so well.  To this day, I am still amazed that our first IVF worked.  As I now transfer into becoming a mother in two short days, I will continue to cheer those of you still in the trenches. Thanks for sticking with me!!

You suck Biff

(You may not want to be eating when you read this)

I am very sad to report that Harry the Hemorrhoid has a new and unwelcome friend. Since I last talked about Harry, he has been a quiet tenant, really the best kind of hemorrhoid tenant you can have if you are unfortunate enough to get one.  He hasn't tried to make his presence felt for the most part and I was crossing my fingers that he would be the only surprise visitor during this pregnancy.  He really seemed like a loner and quite content to spend his days quietly hanging out to himself  (ha ha hanging).

Unfortunately, there is a new hemorrhoid in town and I have decided to name him Biff.  Biff is quite the bully and the worst tenant imaginable.  He is bigger than Harry and wants to make sure that I know that he has moved in for the long haul.  I fear that Biff may be a partier and may try to get others to crash this pregnancy as well.  :-(

I continue to not push when going to the bathroom.  I continue to not be constipated.  I continue to use the wipes with witch hazel that were helping until this weekend.  I even bought Preparation H cream to put on Biff which seemed to help a little bit, but made me feel like I was leaking something out of my butt (which I actually think is a worse feeling than the leaking from the Crinone).  I have been on numerous websites about what to do for hemorrhoids during pregnancy and the only thing that I haven't tried is a sitz bath, which can be as simple as sitting in your bathtub with warm water- I may try that tonight if I don't start to feel better.  People who go through vaginal births may talk about having to get through the "ring of fire", but I have a ring of fire going on 24/7!  Sometimes it hurts to sit.  I have now started to either hover or only put one cheek on the toilet seat because sitting down while peeing hurts too much.  And for someone that is going to the bathroom every hour while awake, the hovering is working my thigh muscles (which haven't seen a squat for exercise purposes in over 8.5 months)!

All joking aside, this really stinks.  I keep telling myself that some people have it much worse and that I should stop complaining.  That it is a very common pregnancy problem.  But it's just not a comfortable feeling and my ability to just run with whatever is going on in my body is lessening as the days tick on.  I wouldn't say that I am uncomfortable just yet (currently only in the Harry/Biff region), but my uterus has definitely been hurting more than usual these days.  And while I have been sleeping, I randomly woke up an hour before the alarm today and couldn't go back to sleep.  So I'm a bit cranky.

So yeah.....Biff you suck!!

Labor day weekend

How is it already Thursday?  I'm not complaining because that means that tomorrow is Friday and I work from home, but still.  I didn't mean to disappear for more than a week, but things have been crazy!

Last Thursday CP and I packed up the car and headed out to a cabin rental at Silver Lake, MI (think central western MI) to join two other couples and their kids.  We didn't know anything about the area but Silver Lake is right off of Lake Michigan and has some really cool dunes.  There was a whole dune buggy culture that we were not expecting, but the cabin was cheap and the water was a great temperature.

Last year this same vacation (well, same friends, different location) had me worried because here we were infertile and trying to hang out with two couples that each had two children. This year, being pregnant made the trip so much easier.  Well, I was a little more exhausted than the other adults and I couldn't drink with them, but I wasn't feeling too awkward being the childless couple because at least there is a good chance that I will have my own child this year. 

There were three 23-monthers and a 3.5 year old.  It was hectic at times but the kids were pretty good for the most part.  While CP and the couples drank, I had no craving what-so-ever for alcohol, but it was weird to be the ONLY sober adult there.  I'm much more of a stick in the mud when I am sober....but I was not envying the hangovers that everyone had!  We had a good time at the beach, on a boat, at a petting farm, etc.  Most likely due to lack to sleep, too much sun the day before, and overall exhaustion, I became moody on Sunday afternoon and skipped out on the beach trip with everyone and instead stayed in the cabin watching "Orange is the New Black" on Netflix on my phone.  Have you guys checked out this show?  It's awesome.  By the time everyone got home I was in a better mood and ready to be social again.

Overall the weekend was great, but I was a bit annoyed when we got home.  Before we left for the trip, we decided that each couple would take a night and make dinner and then the final night we would go out with the kids.  Everyone went to the store to grab booze and food at some point.  CP and I figured that the only thing that we needed to split at the end of the trip was the boat rental.  But no.  Each couple had to submit their tally of how much they spent for the long weekend.  This included the boat (fine),  booze (of which I had none) and food for the kids (of which we have none).  Then we split it three ways.  How is that fair?  To be honest, we probably would have just said that it was fine to split it three ways if one of our friends had said, "oh should CP and NSC pay less because NSC didn't drink and they don't have kids?"  But no one brought that up.  And it's not like this is the first time.  A few weeks ago we spent the weekend with one of the couples- both times we went out to a restaurant we ended up splitting the bill, despite the fact that I didn't drink any alcohol and we don't have any kids.  I don't know if our friends are just not thinking about it, but it's annoying.  I decided not to say anything (although maybe I should have because clearly I am ranting about it) because in the end, it's not worth it, but grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Despite that, it was a nice long weekend away from work.  We sailed through the city without traffic on Monday (amazing!) and picked up the dogs from the kennel.  5am on Tuesday morning I woke up to a collar shaking from downstairs and the smell immediately hit my nose.  One of the dogs had pooped downstairs (not a common occurrence).  I jumped out of bed, threw my glasses on, and went to find the culprit.  I immediately figured out that it was Buster due to his guilty face, but I also recognized that it was explosive diarrhea.  Here is where the story may become a bit TMI.  It was ALL OVER the first floor of our house.  I called for CP and took Buster out so that he could finish the job outside.  CP and I then spent the next THREE HOURS bathing Buster (thank goodness for our motion detector lights on the garage because it was still dark out), wiping down the couch, stereo, a plant, walls, kitchen cabinets, and steam cleaning the carpets.  He really made his mark all over the house.  *shudder*  I ended up staying home with him on Tuesday to continue cleaning and make sure that he wasn't going to have another episode.  Thankfully it seems to have been a one time occurrence and his stomach has righted itself on his new diet of boiled rice and boiled chicken.  Oh man it was awful.  But I guess we are ready for kids?  

So yeah, no way to really end this post on a high note other than I have 5 more days until I officially hit the third trimester of this pregnancy!!  And NFL football starts tonight- WOO HOO!

A club I didn't want to join

Mark the day ladies. At 23 weeks, 1 day I became part of a specialized pregnancy club that I was hoping to avoid. Yes, I have my first hemorrhoid.  Even the look of the word gives me shivers running down my spine.

I was really hoping I could skip this.  Sunny's description of her 'roids at 38 weeks has me very nervous for what is to come. 

So should I name him (because you just know it's male)?  I don't want to make him feel comfortable and have him stick around. I certainly don't want him to invite any friends to this party.

I was wholly unprepared for this. It's like getting caught without enough super tampons when your period starts in the middle of a work meeting and you can't leave to run to the store. (Ahem.  Something that happened during my first week of work in CT when I used to go through five super tampons an hour thanks to my large fibroid and/or endo!).  Except for the first two weeks of pregnancy, I have been regular for the first time in my life so I was just not expecting this.

So ladies if I am not having any pain, itching, etc then do I just leave him alone and hope he goes away?  Should I contact my doctor?  

On a related note, why do i keep getting these pregnancy symptoms early? Everything I see on both swelling and hemorrhoids says that they are common in the third trimester. But I still have a few weeks until the third trimester. Ugh. I'm sure it's the universe getting back at me for saying that things are going well so far. 

NSC:0, Universe:1.

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Today I am feeling especially exposed on the blog.  I told a good friend about this space which is a BIG, HUGE deal because as you know, CP doesn't even know about the blog.  It makes me feel naked, but I know that my friend is in need of some support and I keep telling her about this fantastic blogging community.  When her blog is up and ready I'll let you guys know so that you can head over and try to cheer her up.  

My scientific study

Thanks for all of your input yesterday- this is all so new to me so I welcome all of your experience.  A few hours after posting, I consulted Dr. Google.  I don't have a master degree in Google University like some of you, but as soon as I entered in "night cramps pregnancy" the first result that came up was perfect- a message board of people discussing massive abdominal cramps at night during early pregnancy- YES.

I would like to stay away from taking Tylenol during this pregnancy, so if I can find out the cause of the cramps, maybe I can do something during the day to make sure they don't happen at night.  From your responses, it sounds like some cramping is normal during early pregnancy- but this night cramping is BAD.

So on the message board, one person said that her doctor said that she wasn't drinking enough water.  I thought to myself, okay, I will perform a HIGHLY scientific study tonight. (ha ha) Instead of not drinking water past 8:30 so that I don't have to pee too many times at night, I'll make sure that I continue drinking water up until bedtime and when I do get up to pee, I'll drink some water at the same time (well, not exactly at the same time, but you know what I mean).

I went to bed at 10pm, exhausted.  I was up to pee only two hours later, my body completely confused.  

At 1am I woke up with the massive cramps.  I tried to get into a comfortable position to no avail.  I decided to head to the bathroom to see if I could do anything about it (the message thread also talked about new pregnancy hormones affecting the digestive system- with a slower digestion the cramps could be the need to poop).  I'm usually a once a day type of gal if I'm lucky and so far it's been pretty consistent.  I started to do my business when I realized, oh sh*t, I also need to throw up.

I have never experienced this before in my life, but I did watch my ex-boyfriend have an episode similar to mine after he got way too wasted at a party in college.  Lovely.

I probably should add that CP and I went out for a celebration dinner last night.  We decided to go to an Afghani restaurant.  The food was delicious- a lamb stew over sauteed spinach and rice with carrots and raisins.  However, it was not a pleasure having to throw that up at the same time as I was pooping.

After about 25 minutes, I no longer had the urge to have anything come out from either end and my cramps were not as bad. I brushed my teeth, rinsed my mouth out with mouthwash, and headed back to bed. I ended up having to pee two more times before 7am.

Project drink more water before bed? FAIL.

I'm not sure if the throwing up was due to bad food from the restaurant, but I'm certainly not going to eat my leftovers!!  I think that I will make CP eat them since he called me Pukey face this morning.

I do think that I will make an effort to add more fiber to my diet as most of my cramping went away after my bathroom trip.  And if I NEVER have an episode like last night again I will be a happy, happy lady.

Good and bad

Today is a mix of good and bad things.  I’ll start with the bad.  I went to get a Brazilian yesterday and my waxer mentioned that I might want to head to a doctor because what I thought was simply a very large ingrown hair was most likely a cyst.  I don’t know why I am partial to getting this stupid things, but if you have  been reading for a while, I had a large cyst taken out of my back in the spring of 2010.    Thankfully this cyst was smaller and I didn’t need to be put under with general anesthesia, but I will probably be sore for a few days.  The worst part about it?  No sex for two weeks because of its location and to make sure that I don’t open the stitches.  Seriously???  I haven’t seen my husband for more than 24 hours in A MONTH and in the 24 hours I did see him, I of course had my period.  ARGH.

The good news is that CP’s work in Brazil has finished early so instead of leaving Friday night and arriving early Sat morning into Chicago, he is going to leave tomorrow night and arrive early Thursday morning!!  I’m very excited that I get two extra days with him and I’m crossing my fingers that he doesn’t have to go anywhere next week.  I seriously miss my husband- especially because it has been FREEZING in Chicago the past few days.  When I took the dogs out this morning the wind chill was -15 degrees.  I mean, I love my two furry blankets but snuggling with the dogs is just not the same as snuggling with your husband.

My other good news is that I actually got CP to agree to go to a couples group on how to support each other through infertility treatments this weekend.  It’s free and only an hour long so it can’t be that bad.  I’m just amazed that I didn’t have to beg or plead with him to go with me.  Progress!!

On another note, those of you that have done acupuncture in conjunction with your fertility, how many times did you go a week?  How far in advance prior to retrieval did you go?  Was there a place that your doctor recommended or did you just find a place nearby?  My insurance wouldn’t cover acupuncture, but there is the place that my clinic recommends (place #1) or there is also a place that is connected to my gym (place #2).  Place #1 is a bit more expensive ($25 more for the initial consultation and then $15 more for follow ups) and farther away than Place #2 (25 minutes as opposed to less than 5 minutes).  I wondering though if the specialty acupuncture place (#1) is worth the extra money and driving time because infertility is really what they focus on.  Thoughts?

Mother's Day weekend

Blergh.  Nothing like coming back to a boring job to make you miss your weekend.

The highlights:

·         Seeing law school friends during the day on Friday and meeting their 7 month old twins for the first time.  They were adorable! 

·         Surprising my parents Friday night.  We decided on heading to the restaurant early and when they turned the corner to hold up our water glasses with a sh*t-eating grin on our faces.  Everyone else wasn’t paying attention when they walked in, but I managed to follow the plans.  It took my parents about 30 seconds to register that both of their daughters were at the restaurant.  Hee hee.  Neither of my parents had any idea!

·         After the surprise we had a great (albeit short) weekend with the whole family.  We played dirty Scattegories- which is basically played the regular way but if you can find a dirty answer for a category you get double points.  That was quite interesting with my mother who doesn’t know a lot of the slang terms (but quite hilarious).

·         The magnolia tree my sister and I ordered for my mom came on time.  I was worried that it wasn’t going to deliver in time for us to plant it this weekend but it came and it looks great!

·         Seeing my sister’s condo that she bought with her boyfriend and meeting her rescue puppy.

The lowlights:

·         For the past couple of days I have been seeing a little dark blood mixed with the Crinone (progesterone).  Yesterday (aka Mother’s Day) I saw more blood (red) and even had to wear a tampon last night.  At first I thought it might be implantation blood but at only 10dpo this is right around the time I should be getting my period without the progesterone help….so I think the progesterone didn’t work this month.  I’m calling my doctor just in case, but I didn’t even have the heart to use a pregnancy test this morning.  The fact that I started bleeding ON Mother’s Day is just my body’s way of saying “F*CK YOU of course you are not pregnant!”  Lovely.

·         Getting annoyed at the airline stewardesses that proclaimed “Happy Mother’s Day!” five different times throughout the flight.  I’m fine with the holiday and it doesn’t make me too sad because I can celebrate the fact that I have an amazing mother- but when you continually say the phrase, it starts to gut punch those of us that have been unable to even get pregnant.  Gah.  Why not just mention it once??

·         Spending too much on dinner at Rick Bayless’ restaurant Topolobampo.  I mean, the food was good, but my Artic Char dish wasn’t worth $35.  We couldn’t get into Frontera, his less expensive and more well known restaurant, so we settled for Topolobampo.  I guess I was expecting more from a Top Chef Master winner.

·         Getting a call from the vet on Friday.  She gave us the bad news that although Fuzzy Britches’ UTI is gone, she still has crystals in her urine.  We have to go back in 2-3 weeks and bring in another urine sample.  If there are still crystals it means she most likely has either bladder stones or kidney stones and will have to undergo an MRI.  Poor baby.  :-(

While it seems as if I have just as many lowlights as highlights, the weekend with my family was great.  I didn’t think about anything related to a potential pregnancy until Sunday morning when I saw the blood.  :-(

And so it begins....

Yesterday I showed up a little before 11am to get turkey basted.  I waited and waited, wondering why all of the other women were called in before me.  Was there something wrong with CP’s sample?  Wouldn’t they have called me if something was wrong?

Turns out they just ran out of ultrasound rooms and it was a very busy day at the office.  My doctor was a resident that I saw right after my surgery and although she is geeky, I enjoy her.  I ended up having one follicle on my left ovary of a good size and my lining looks good. 

CP’s sample was once again fit for a ROCKSTAR.  The doctor said, “Oh yes, this is good enough to post on a fridge.”  SUPER SPERM!  Ha ha.  He was WAY ABOVE normal in all of the categories….so now it’s up to me and my body.  I asked the doctor if my fibroid or endo could be back.  She said she didn’t think so (and didn’t see a fibroid during the ultrasound)…..but that there are a lot of things that science can’t explain (thus the diagnosis of “unexplained infertility” that some couples get).

I told her that CP complained because they only have a VHS player and bad 80s porn in the sample room.  (Not to mention this time they used one of the exam rooms and just wheeled a television/VHS unit into the room.  How sexy it must have been for him to give his sample while in a room with stirrups and ultrasound wands that look like dildos.  Ha ha.)  She just started laughing and couldn’t believe that they don’t have a DVD player.  If CP has to give another sample (fingers crossed that he doesn’t!), he said he is going to buy an iPad and bring it into the room.

CP didn’t even end up using the videos this time.  He ended up thumbing through a magazine looking at lesbians….which is why we joked later that all of his counts from his sample were so high.  His “boys” thought that they needed to impregnate both of the women!  Ahhh and that was probably TMI.  But also very funny.

And now the two week wait begins…..

One Lovely Blog Award

Recently I received a blog award from both this lovely lady and this lovely lady .  I’m a new reader to both of their blogs, but I’m hoping that all of us get our positive pregnancy test soon!

1.       Share who gave you this award with a link back to their blog

2.       Write down 7 random facts about yourself.

3.       Give this award to 15 other bloggers.

4.       Let them know they have won.

5.       Pop the award on your blog.

Hmmm 7 random facts about myself.

1.       My biggest fear is getting into an accident (such as a car accident) with it serious enough that they would have to cut off my clothes.  Not only would strangers see my fat body, but what if I hadn’t shaved in a few days?  And what if they made comments about my body?  It is COMPLETELY irrational because I would hope that a doctor, nurse, or EMT would be focused on you know, saving my life, but it is still a fear.

2.       My second biggest fear is getting charged with a crime (like a murder) that I didn’t commit.  Like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And the police were able to come up with some plausible motive for me to kill the victim.  I don’t know.  I can’t explain it.  I’m weird.

3.       All of the dollar bills in my wallet have to face the same way and be right side up. 

4.       My favorite food in the entire world is corn.  I am ecstatic that we planted four rows of sweet corn into the community garden last weekend.  If those babies grow we will have almost 100 corn plants.  CP thinks that we could have planted too much, but I could literally eat corn every meal of the day.  I love corn so much that I started to feel bad for loving it after reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma and hearing about all of the gross things corn could be made into.  But I still eat it and love it!

5.       CP and I have been enjoying The Frozen Planet series on Discovery. It’s kind of like Planet Earth (which we LOVED).  The best part about watching it is that Buster will watch it with us.  He watches and pays attention whenever land animals are on the screen.  When they show wolves he gets up and walks over to the tv screen.  It is ADORABLE.

6.       The hottest guy I ever kissed (other than my husband of course), was probably a guy that I met in Sweden in high school.  For two summers in high school I played tennis tournaments in Europe which was amazing.  Not only did I get to see a bunch of different countries, but it was an overall great experience.  Early on in my first summer we were playing a tournament in Gothenburg and I met a Swede who was also playing in the tournament.  All I can remember is his blond hair, bright blue eyes, and killer body.  I don’t even remember if he was a good kisser or not.  But daaaamn he was hot (and I generally don’t go for blonds).

7.       As I have mentioned on this blog, I am a monthly Brazilian bikini waxer.  I have been doing it for at least 7 years (wow).  My waxer in CT started to use hard wax which I think is better than the strips.  But this month I tried sugaring and WHY DID I NOT TRY THIS BEFORE?  I wasn’t sticky when she finished and it was less painful.  I am now in love with sugaring.

Now to nominate 15 bloggers:

1.       Alice’s Wonderland   http://aliceblogs.blogspot.com/

2.       Seattle Stevie   http://www.seattlestevie.com/

3.       Breathe Gently  http://www.breathegently.com/  (Good luck with your egg collection!)

4.       Joyful Follies  http://joyfulfollies.com/

5.       I Am Slowly Drifting  http://abluemind.wordpress.com/

6.       Musings, Graces, and Fate  http://musings-graces-and-fate.blogspot.com/

7.       Somi Speaks  http://somispeaks.com/

8.       Stacface  http://stacface.com/

9.       Terra the Bear  http://www.terra-bear.com/

10.   The Pussy Palace http://thepussypalace.blogspot.com/  (sounds dirty but it is not)

11.   These Little Moments http://theselittlemoments.wordpress.com/

12.   Airing My Dirty Laundry  http://whisperingwriter.blogspot.com/

13.   Amy Jo…On the Go  http://amyjoonthego.blogspot.com/

14.   Unruffled Lanie  http://unruffledlanie.blogspot.com/

15.   Navigating the Mothership  http://navigatingthemothership.blogspot.com/

Thanks again ladies!

UPDATE:  I have also received the award from this lovely lady.  Thanks!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I got the best V-day present ever- MY PERIOD!!! Okay, so it’s not the best present ever and it makes for an unromantic evening, but still YAY!!!!!!!!!!! Double YAY to the fact that it seems to be back to what I consider my “normal” period- no seriously heavy flow days and no big clots. TMI? Sorry. Here’s hoping now that the endo and the fibroid are gone it stays that way! Actually, best case scenario is that I don’t get it again for at least another 10+ months, but that might be pushing my luck! :-)

So I finished my 10 days of Provera, the progesterone that was supposed to jump start my period. The prescription information said that I would likely start my period within 3-7 days of starting the medicine. When I finished the pills and saw nothing, I waited another day then called my doctor. I guess it depends on the woman, but it can take up to two weeks after finishing the 10 days of pills to get your period. Good to know.

In real V-day news, CP and I won’t be doing anything romantic tonight. I am hosting a fondue party tomorrow so we are going to tidy up the house and have a delicious, but unremarkable dinner. Saturday will be our celebration dinner. I’ll be making some sort of pie or tart for dessert and CP is going to make rack of lamb. Not sure of the sides or even how he is going to do the lamb (I did request no mint jelly-ewww), but that’s the plan. I’m looking forward to it!

What are you doing this Valentine’s day?

Half marathon recap

My plan:

Hopefully finish in 2 hours, 30 minutes. I would eat either a Clif Block Shot or Sport Jelly Beans every two miles. I would get water at every other water station.

Pre-race:
I spent a few days worrying about my left foot that was hurt in my fall down the stairs last week. Thankfully it was feeling better by the time the race rolled around. My heels were a different story…

Saturday I got my period which was the absolute worst timing (especially because I was late by 2.5 days which got my hopes up). CP and I spent most of the day cleaning (aka on my feet all day) before my mom arrived. We had a delicious dinner of grilled fish, veggies and rice. I slept okay Saturday night- CP took the 2am Buster slot but I kept waking up before my 5am alarm because I was worried that Buster was going to bark and wake up my mom.

I woke up that morning and had a heavy flow. FML. I changed tampons about 30 minutes before the start of the race in a porta-potty and stuck another into my sports bra for later.

I ate Gu about 15 minutes before the race started and then headed over to the starting line, making jokes to try to calm my nerves. It was probably 62 degrees out and sunny- a perfect day to run!

Race:
The first two miles were spent with two ladies from my running group that were usually a little slower than me. They were running well and we were on track to definitely break two hours and forty minutes. I definitely felt the bruise on my butt every time I took a step (damn fat jiggles), but the pain was less noticeable starting with mile 3.

Miles 3 and 4 were spent with one of my coaches. I had decided to speed up a bit because I was feeling good….the coach was a little worried that I did that but I assured him that I would slow down if I need to. I ate a Clif Block shot at the start of mile three and drank some water.

Around mile 5 I was still feeling great, but had the feeling that I needed to change my tampon (skip this paragraph if you don’t like TMI). My coach had moved on so I decided to investigate how my tampon was doing between my boobs. Not. Good. I knew that I would be sweaty, but didn’t really have any other place to put it. When I looked down the orange paper wrapper had disintegrated and rubbed the orange coloring all over my skin. The cardboard applicator was also wet and the tampon had partially opened to soak up sweat. Why didn't I try to find a PLASTIC applicator tampon?? I decided to stop at the next porta potty. That meant losing about three minutes waiting for the person in front of me. I ended up taking off the cardboard applicator and frankly just sticking the tampon up with my bare hands (thankfully there was hand sanitizer).

By this time the two ladies from my group that I was in front of had passed me while I was in the porta potty. I set them in my sights and sped up to catch them. Meanwhile the elite runners started to pass me (aka lap us) while running 6 minute miles. Bastards. I stayed with my friends through some of mile 6 but realized that I would soon see CP and my mom at mile 8. That made me run a little faster, although I was worried that I wouldn’t see them and that would devastate me. Sure enough, there was my small cheering section at mile 8! It put an extra bounce in my step for the next mile (despite having to run past the finish line). My time at mile 8 was 1 hour, 30 minutes and 4 seconds. I started to think that I really could make my goal time.

Starting at mile 9 the outside of my right foot started to hurt. I also started to eat two Sport Jelly Beans at every mile marker, thinking that I needed to keep my energy up. I could tell that I was slowing down, but was trying to keep my pace up. I mentally tried to stay in the race, telling myself at mile 10 that I only had a 5K left. At mile 11 I told myself that I had less than 25 minutes to go. Mile 12 was the hardest because my pace slowed down a bunch because my left inside quad started to seize. Great timing.

With about 400 meters left, my coach joined me on the course (he had already finished) and helped me finish. Another coach yelled at me from the sidelines to sprint to the finish- I'm not sure that what I did would be called "sprinting" but it was the best I could do after 13 miles.

First 8 miles- 1:30:04

13.1 miles- 2:30:35

Pace: 11:30

Calories burned: 1800

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CP came up, gave me a kiss at the finish line and asked how I was feeling. My exact words were, “Hurting, but glad that I never have to do this again.” LOL.

Post race:

Sitting down while stretching was a necessity for a bit after the race. I was walking slowly everywhere as my feet were screaming. My mom was able to drive my car home for me and I tried to sit as much as possible before stuffing my face with a delicious and healthy lunch made by CP. I didn’t get to nap as we headed out to a nursery to check out trees for our front yard after my shower. We then sat down for an ice cream sundae which was well deserved on my part.

After all of my worries about getting injured during training, I’m proud that I stuck it out and can now say that I have done a half marathon. And thank goodness I’m happy with my time so that I don’t have to do another one!

Guys have it so easy

After hearing of CP’s “swimmers” test, I have decided that guys have it so easy.

CP’s experience went something like this. He showed up at the clinic and was brought into a room with a cup. He didn’t really see any “aids” lying around, but noticed a television in the corner of the room so he turned it on. Surprise! It was porn. He didn’t want to turn it on too loud because he could hear that someone in the room next to him was having a regular office visit. (Ed. Note: weird. You would think that they would make the walls a bit more soundproof. That wouldn’t be a turn-on for most guys.)

He told me later on that it actually was a pretty good porn too. (Ha ha)

The only question in his head was whether he should just get it over with quickly (and possibly look like a two pump chump) or draw it out a little bit (and possibly look impotent). LOL. He’s too funny. Otherwise, no feeling weird about “donating” in a doctor’s office.

After he was done he THEN found the huge stack of nudie magazines and pornos in the drawer. Too bad!

So that’s it. No blood drawn. No having to show your bits to strangers. No cramping. No dripping after the test is over. Just doing something enjoyable. Lucky bastard.

More tests

Today I went for the hysterosalpingogram test (aka HSG test aka dye up the lady bits test). My progesterone bloodwork came back on the lower end of normal, but still in the normal range, so it was the next test to get. This was my experience (possibly TMI).

I arrived at the radiology office and was told to take off my jeans and underwear and put on a dressing gown. The nurse led me into a room with the all too familiar stirrups, but instead of a padded reclined chair, it was a cold metal slab. A huge machine was located just off the side of the table.

I got on the table and we got started. At first it just felt like a regular annual exam, including scooting down to the end of the table, putting my feet in the stirrups and the cold speculum. (Lucky me! Two in 2 months!) After inserting the speculum, the doctor then swabbed my cervix with a solution (I believe it was a yellow/brown iodine solution to clean the area). She then inserted a catheter which produced a cramping sensation. From there, she blew up a balloon inside me which caused some more cramping pain.

I was then told to scoot backwards to get under the X-ray machine, take my feet out of the stirrups and lay them on the table. The doctor then inserted the dye into my uterus. As it traveled up through my fallopian tubes and into my ovaries, the X-ray doctor took pictures of my inside lady bits.

The whole process took 15 minutes. The nurse gave me a massive pad because for 1-3 days I will have dye, blood and iodine dripping out of me. Man I haven’t worn one of these since the beginning of high school!! And yes, I am seriously sexy.

Two hours later I still have some cramping. Good times.

The result? Everything is fine. No blockages anywhere. They showed me my X-ray and I have a very pretty uterus.* That definitely makes me happy, but it has me a confused as to why we are still having problems getting pregnant. Maybe we will know a bit better when CP’s test results come back?


*I have never seen anyone else's uterus on an X-ray, so I am not really qualified to make this statement. :-)

Stylish??

I have been tagged as a stylish blogger from Stevie. That makes me giggle because you wanna know what I am currently wearing? Glasses, no makeup, gray yoga pants and a sweatshirt given to me by my college athletic department for practices. That means that the sweatshirt is probably from 1996. Yep. Sooo stylish. What can I say? It’s a work from home day.

Are you sure you don’t want to take back the award? :-)

So now I am supposed to:
*Link back to Stevie. Thanks lady!
*Tell you 7 random facts.
*Link to 15 other bloggers. Good thing I have a large reading list…

1. I hate oysters. That fact alone KILLS CP. Oh sure I have tried them in the past, but now when CP pushes the plate towards me I just tell him that he is wasting a precious oyster.

2. When I shower I don’t let the hair that falls out go down the drain. Instead I put it aside and throw it in the garbage after I get out. I like to think that I am decreasing the chances of a clogged shower.

3. I have never broken a bone. I might have totally jinxed myself saying that, but yeah, I have been pretty lucky considering all of the sports that I have played in my lifetime.

4. I like to keep all of the bills in my wallet facing the same way, right side up, and in denomination order. I swear that I don’t have OCD….

5. My favorite food in the world is corn. If I could eat it for every meal I would. One of the reasons I know that CP loves me? We made a meal from a Mexican cookbook on Sunday. One of the dishes? Corn soup. Yum.

6. Last week I found another lump on Fuzzy Britches’ chest. I will be taking her in to the vet tomorrow to get it checked out, but it feels a bit different than the other one. On my walk with her the night I found it I started crying because I was CONVINCED that this one is cancerous.

7. I hate public speaking if it is in a formal setting. Unfortunately, starting next month part of my job will be going out to groups to give speeches. I always survive and I don’t have any weird tics or anything, but hate it the entire time I am giving it. It’s so funny because my sister is the complete opposite. Her job is in the public eye and she has to speak in public all the time- I don’t know how she does it.

Now for the linking!

Runners are stylish!

Brilliance Wasted

New Life

New moms are stylish! Duh. They have a new accessory (just kidding!):

A Peine for your Thoughts

Du Wax Loolu

I'm a Mom in Real Life

Jillybee Momma

Our Little Apartment

Somi Speaks

State that I am In

These Little Moments

People who travel are stylish!

Eat, Blog and Be Married

Terra Bear

People who recently got married are stylish!

Amy Jo...On the Go

I am Slowly Drifting

Stylish Handwriting

The State of NSC- February edition

A monthly take on my world.

Weight: 206 pounds (boooo)

Current Feeling: A bit tired and worried. Work has been busy and all of the rain we have been getting hasn’t helped. At least tomorrow is supposed to be a high of 46!

Running Stats
Miles Run: 42.47
Time Spent Running: 8 hours, 16 minutes, 17 seconds
Calories Burned: 6,669
Longest Run: 7.25 miles on 2/26
PR: My new 5K PR is 33 minutes,25 seconds. My new 10K PR is 72 minutes, 10 seconds.

Current aches and pains: My plantar fasciitis reared its ugly head on Saturday during my 7+ mile run. Both heels hurt the ENTIRE RUN. It was painful and not very fun. I am back to the painful stretches and rolling a golf ball beneath my arches. In addition, I also had some chafing issues along my rib cage from my sports bra. I was able to rub my skin raw and not even realize it until I jumped into the shower (my heels pain must have masked this pain). The line has somewhat faded, but I’m worried that they won’t be gone before my next long run on Saturday.

Current Favorite Song: Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World”

Looking forward to: Getting my “infertility” test results. Running the Quarter Marathon. Our new puppy! And farther off, our week-long camping trip we just booked for Acadia National Park (Maine). :-)

Annoyed about: The mortgage fiasco is still dragging on. Having to find new renters in the condo out west because our current ones have decided that they want to move out and buy a place. Money issues in general.

Craving: Crab cheese wontons. Haven’t had them in a very long time because we haven’t been out for Thai food in a while. I really need to remedy this…

Going in for testing

*This may be a TMI post.*

Yesterday I had my annual lady bits appointment. I had been looking forward to the appointment because I wanted to hear what my doctor thought of our inability to get pregnant so far. I came armed with five months of temperature-taking charts. After studying them she concluded that I am ovulating, but my luteal phase (the time between ovulation and my period) is probably too short. Basically that means that even if CP’s sperm meets my egg, then my uterine lining is not thick enough for anything to implant because my body is not producing enough progesterone.

CP and I will now be undergoing a few tests:

• On Day 25 of this cycle I will have blood drawn to check my progesterone levels. If they are low, then my 10-11 day luteal phase is too short.
• CP will go in for semen analysis. The clinic will check out the volume, sperm count, shape and movement to make sure his swimmers are okay.
• If both of these tests come back normal, then I will have dye shot into my lady bits and then I will be X-rayed. This is to make sure that there are no blockages in my tubes (i.e. I could be ovulating but either sperm can’t get to the egg or the egg can’t go anywhere). If there are blockages, my doctor said that often the dye test will remove the blockages.

These are the basic “infertility” tests that are not too invasive and not too expensive. After getting these done we will evaluate whether we want to continue getting tested or just hope for a surprise.

If my progesterone level comes back low, my doctor suggested putting me on Clomid. I asked her if there were any side effects and she said none at a low dosage. However, after doing some research today, I found that there are side effects. Hmmm. They are not major, but I don’t like doctors not telling me the whole story. CP and I also would like to stay away from drugs if possible.

The book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” recommends taking B6 supplements instead of Clomid, however it does warn that you can take too much B6. Depending on my test results, I will bring up this idea with my doctor.

In the meantime, life continues….

Post for future months

Thursday I woke up expecting my period. Every time I went to the bathroom I expected to see blood. Nothing. An entire day went by. I began to get excited. I kept checking the calendar to make sure that today was the today that I should have gotten my period.

I couldn’t sleep that night. When I woke up Friday I again expected to see blood. Nothing. My temperature was still high. Could this be it? Could I really be pregnant? I casually mention to CP that I am two days late. To him I am casual…in my mind I am already thinking of how and when we will tell my parents (their first grandchild) and CP’s parents. The stuff that I wasn’t going to be able to eat for the next 9 months. What lies we could tell our friends when we saw them in two weeks. They would definitely notice if I wasn’t drinking (mainly because they are trying themselves). I head to the DMV to get my drivers license and the entire time waiting I am trying to focus on my book, but every once in a while smiling to myself.

This could really be the month! I didn’t feel any cramps so I was positive this was the month. I didn’t feel pregnant, but at this point it is still dividing cells right? I wouldn’t feel that anyway. I didn’t see any implantation bleeding, but most women don’t so that wasn’t a big deal.

On the way home, I decided that it was safe enough to buy a pregnancy test. I knew that I was going to take it as soon as I got home, despite the fact that it was not the first time I went to the bathroom that morning. It just couldn’t wait. Not surprisingly, it was negative. I dismissed it and told myself that I would take another one the next morning.

That night I again told CP that my period had not shown up yet. He said that I should wait a few more days to take another pregnancy test because I might just be a little late this month. I was adamant and told him that in the past six months since getting off birth control I have been on a strict cycle. He said that he didn’t want me to get my hopes up too much.

In the end, CP was right. I woke up the next morning to my period before I could even take another pregnancy test. I hate the CP was right. Mostly because it means that we are not pregnant, but also because he was right about the fact that MY cycle was simply late. As CP woke up, I told him the news before I headed off to work.

Note to self for future months: wait longer than two days late to take a pregnancy test. Also, try not to get hopes up for the first few days you don’t have your period.

Another note: These two things will be VERY hard to do.

Frustration

As I read Taryn’s post on Friday, I kept nodding to myself.

Last week I had lovely gas. I wasn’t really eating anything too different, so I googled whether gas was a early symptom of pregnancy (mixed results- some women said that it was for them, others said no). Thursday I had a bit of bleeding so I googled when implantation bleeding occurred. Could I still be in that window? Turns out yes, but I had the same thing happen the prior month so I wasn’t getting my hopes up too much.

Unlike Taryn I haven’t been purchasing pregnancy tests. But in the back of my mind, I keep thinking about the few “I Didn’t Know That I Was Pregnant” shows where the women continues to get her period throughout her pregnancy. Could that be me?

But no. We are now 0-2.

It’s easy to say to not stress about this whole process. But that is not something that I can do. It’s been two months now. According to the books that I have read and my online googling, we are “practicing” at the right times. Is there something wrong? Should I be worried? And I know that for people our age it takes an average of six months. But are those people really trying? Are they actively “practicing” at the right times? Or just having sex whenever they want?

The online searches are also very frustrating (and I’m not even talking about the misspelled words, no punctuation and text speak that are all over pregnancy forums). People that are pregnant because of a drunk one-night stand. People that are pregnant because they forgot to use a condom once with their boyfriend/husband. I even have a few friends on Facebook that have accidently gotten pregnant lately. As someone who is actively trying, that is especially frustrating. Why are these people able to get pregnant and we are not?

I should be thinking about not getting pregnant this month in a positive way. This way I can help out with all of the moving (although I would have loved to have gotten out of moving the heavy stuff!). This way I can paint. But as much as the logical side of me wants to say that not getting pregnant is a good thing this month, I am still sad. Still worried.

Hopefully we can get settled into our new place quickly. I plan on buying a basal body thermometer and using it to track when I ovulate.

Boy I hope this happens soon. I don’t want to write this post every month.

Pills

Necessary pain pills aside after surgeries, I hate hate hate having to take prescription medicine. I wasn’t a huge fan of birth control pills, but deemed them absolutely necessary (at least until about two weeks ago). :-) When I first started law school, I started to get awful heartburn and weird belching issues. Sometimes the only thing that would help would be for me to make myself throw up (no I was never a bulimic). I went to the doctor and was told that I had GERD (acid reflux disease). It was most likely due to the stress that I was under and the extra pounds that I was packing on.

So after making sure that I didn’t have any ulcers in my throat, I was put on Prevacid and Pepcid. The pills worked throughout law school and after the bar I decided to try to lower my dosage to one pill every other day. As in, I would take Prevacid the 1st day, Pepcid the 2nd day, Prevacid the 3rd day, Pepcid the 4th day, etc. That seemed to work okay too. Then my prescriptions ran out and I didn’t feel like going back to the doctor. So I started to buy the over the counter medicines and take them every other day. That made me feel a bit better as I knew that my dosage was at least getting smaller.

A few weeks ago, my over the counter pills ran out and I decided that I was going to fully quit the drugs. My stress levels are lower, I am eating healthier, and if an attack comes on, I find that taking charcoal pills eases the acid attack. The first couple of days were ROUGH. Going from fully reducing stomach acid to suddenly allowing it back in your system is not fun, despite the fact that I thought that I “weaned” myself from the drugs in a reasonable manner. One day while at work I tried everything to relieve the acid. I ate an apple. I ate some almonds (which I hate). I chewed some gum. I drank tons of water. Eventually, I felt a little better but it was bad enough that I almost thought about going back on the over the counter drugs again.

But, I persevered through a couple of awful days and gradually it has gotten better. I have had a few times when I have had to take two charcoal pills, but for the most part I am pretty amazed.

I take the pink pills on the bottom (FYI- I was not asked to review this product or paid to put it on my blog. Many people that have acid problems do not know about taking charcoal to relieve their problems. My doctor suggested it and it has worked out well.)

And boy am I glad that I have weaned myself off the drugs. Especially when I saw this on NPR.com today: FDA Warns About Bone Breaks and Heartburn Drugs. 1 in 20 (!!!) people use these drugs to reduce stomach acid. And the higher the dosage/ the longer you take the drugs, the higher the risk.

I may have dodged a bullet here….4 years of these drugs was quite long enough for me.