A looong overdue update - sorry I have been MIA lately. Things in our life, outside of baby making, have been pretty cool. We just got home from Tahoe and it was amazingly beautiful and a fun time with good friends. Phil and I both said that it is one the few places that we would really, really love to go back to!

UPDATES:

• We are in the middle of our 10th cycle, cycle day 11 to be exact. I'm at the doc tomorrow morning for an ultrasound that hopefully shows something more than the previous few. This cycle we stuck with the Femara and gave it one more go before we change drugs, dosages or both. This time it made me a little bit more irritable and had a few more headaches but it is much better compared to the Clomid the first round.  If good thoughts and cheers could be spared - we would take some tomorrow morning. 

• I met this morning with another specialist - Dr. Chow and Endocrinology of Minneapolis to talk about my prolactin levels and what that means in the scope of getting pregnant. I learned so many things about the pituitary gland and how very important it is in controlling not only prolactin but a multitude of others functions

Growth Hormone (GH):

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)

Beta-endorphin (CRH)

Prolactin

Lutenizing hormone (LH)

Follicle Stimulating hormone (FSH) - this is the big one that could be affected. 

There is a possibility that there is a very small 'tumor' (non-cancerous) on the pituitary gland that would be interrupting the dopamine and would be increasing the prolactin. In order to determine all of these things I had to give mooorreee blood and if that comes back elevated again, we have to do an MRI to determine if it really is the small tumor that is causing the problems. If it is less than 1cm, we move ahead with drugs to increase the dopamine to take over the small mass. If it is greater than 1cm, it would require surgery to remove the mass and move forward with a different plan.
I really liked this doctor and he seemed to think that all roads lead to getting some answers that coupled with the fertility treatments that we’re already doing would result in a pregnancy!
I have been down this road of ‘hope’ before and have thought ‘this is it’ and then we’re still stuck in the same old pattern – so I am optimistic, but not overly so. We still have to wait a week for the results of the blood work before we even decide if there will be an MRI. So, again, if you have any extra well-wishes or cheers, Phil and I would love to take them off your hands!

xo - Amanda

Mr. Fallon

First of all, I'm obesessed with all things SNL and especially Weekend Update so you can reasonably deduce that I'm a big Jimmy Fallon fan. Also, I am so grateful to have people who speak out about their struggles with infertility. Jimmy Fallon recently revealed the story behind his daughter, Winnie's, name and his wife's struggle with infertility. My favorite quote and something I'm really going to take to heart is the following:

“We tried for a long time — five years. I know people have tried much longer but if anyone out there is trying and losing hope, just hang in there. Try every avenue, try anything you can do. You’ll get there. You’ll end up with a family. It is the most worth it thing. I’m just so happy right now, I’m freaking out.” -- Jimmy Fallon

The Mahal's are 'hanging in there' until we reach our goal of a family. Thanks Jimmy for your wise, wise words.

http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/08/13/jimmy-fallon-daughter-name-lake-winnipesaukee/

Cycle 9

Yesterday (sunday) was a 'bad day' - there will be good and bad on this journey and yesterday just wasn't the best. I went in for CD13 ultrasound and there wasn't anything of significance except for a large cyst leftover from last cycle. The nurse looked at me perplexed and said 'you're a tough one - how are we going to make you produce eggs and ovulate?'. Her guess is as good as mine.

What now? Start over. Another 10-day dose of provera and then back to the drawing board.

There are many difficult things about this whole thing but the worst is sending my husband the same text after every cycle: nothing yet. start over. We're doing such a good job of staying positive and trying to see the silver lining in everything but it's getting tougher.

I also realized that we're in our 20th month of trying for our first babe. 20 months... that sounds like such a long time, right?

Summer is winding down but I am looking forward to all things fall; The fair, chai tea lattes, leaves changing and football.



Have a great day everyone - A.



Schedule of Cycle 9

CD4:  Ultrasound

CD5-9: Femara 5mg

CD13: Ultrasound

Prolactin

I feel like I could have a lot of my posts on this blog named 'one step forward - two steps back', but that would be unoriginal and weird. It might be fitting in this case.

I got a phone call from Dr. E on Friday and she said that I have increased prolactin. This was discovered during my fasting blood draw last week - fasting until 10am. Who can do that? Well anyway, she recommended me to an endocrinologist in Minneapolis who works a lot with her patients. I called to make an appointment - one month. Always one months.. never fails.

What is prolactin or increased prolactin you may ask? This is all my own research, so bear with me....

If the test shows too much prolactin in your blood, you will most likely have trouble getting pregnant and also might have irregular periods. Too much prolactin is definitely a problem if you are trying to get pregnant, since it can be a major roadblock. You can also suffer from vision problems, headaches and a reduced sex drive as a result of too much prolactin.

Causes of high levels

High levels of prolactin can be caused by a number of things. One of the most common is prescription medications, lack of sleep, or extreme stress or strenuous exercise. Sometimes there are more serious reasons for high prolactin levels, including a tumor on the pituitary gland, or sometimes PCOS can also be to blame. Prolactin levels can also be increased if you have liver or kidney problems as well.

Treatments

If your doctor is able to determine what is causing your high levels of prolactin, and fix the problem, your prolactin levels can begin to drop almost immediately. Once high prolactin levels are brought down, there is a great chance of being able to conceive on your own. It is just a matter of figuring out what is causing the high prolactin levels and how to fix it. There are several drugs on the market right now that can easily treat high prolactin levels in most women and bring them down to a safe level. Just be sure to ask your doctor about what you can do in your case if you think high prolactin levels could be contributing to your infertility.

One more roadblock for the dude and I but we'll get past this one too. Keep on keepin' on. We're still in the middle of a medicated cycle right now so fingers crossed that this will all be Moo (a cows opinion, it doesn't matter).