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).

#tbt

I am stuck in a cycle of only posting on Thursdays. That's okay though, I have some great TBTs up my sleeve. Much like this little gem from circa 1989.

#tbt

a little throw back to our engagement pics in 2008 - my, how time flies.

bummed, but optimistic

We are currently wrapping up cycle 8 of our baby journey. You may think to yourself, '8 cycles.. 8 months. that's not bad'. My cycles are not short and sweet. My longest cycle was 135 days and the average of all 8 is 70 days. Now that we are at the RE we are a little more regular than before. But to us 8 cycles = 19 months.

This cycle was our first medicated cycle and it was a learning experience for both of us. We learned that drugs make me crazy, Philip is the best husband ever and that it takes me 27 minutes to get to the doc in Minneapolis. We also talked alot about follicles.

Ovarian follicles are the basic units of female reproductive biology, each of which is composed of roughly spherical aggregations of cells found in the ovary. They contain a single oocyte (immature ovum or egg). These structures are periodically initiated to grow and develop, culminating in ovulation of usually a single competent oocyte in humans. These eggs/ova are developed only once every menstrual cycle (e.g. once a month in humans). via Wikipedia

We are done with this cycle because I did not have enough mature follicles to move ahead with the IUI. I am bummed, but optimistic (hence the title). We will meet with the doctor and reevaluate everything - what do we do now? up the meds? change meds? These will be all the questions that we ask when we go back.

Schedule of Cycle 8

CD2:  Ultrasound

CD3-7: Clomid 50mg

CD12: Ultrasound

CD15: Ultrasound

CD18: Ultrasound

Thanks all for reading. Have a great weekend and keep enjoyin' that summer.

clomid

Let me tell you a little story about Clomid.

There once was a little girl, and all she wanted was a baby (ace of base?). So, she saw the doctor and they said take this pill and you might have a chance (after all the proper monitoring, tests, etc). What they didn't tell me was that I would be a fire breathing, hot flashing, emotional rollercoaster of a human being.

One day left. That's what I tell my husband.

One more day.. then 5 more.. then an ultrasound to see how those ovaries are doin'.

CD1ish

We're back in the saddle - Thursday is my second baseline ultrasound. I am hoping for better results than last time. Fingers, eyes, toes, ears, arms and nose crossed.. everything crossed that we will actually be able to move ahead with our plan.

Lately

Well, it has officially been forever since I wrote any semblance of a blog post. In the last 4 months we have made a plan for baby, traveled to Indy to watch some good friends tie the knot, watched baby brother graduate from high school, sent off miss Brittany Jo to marriage with one last craaazy night.

JUNE:

AJ and Christina became the Duplessis' in early June in Indy. Philip and I left waay early on Thursday morning and made the 9 hour drive south. I took alot of naps and Phil cursed at the traffic and crappy cell service in Wisconsin. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a ton of fun - maybe even too much if there is such a thing.

A lot of stupid fun girls had the time of our lives and sent Britt off into married life with a bang! We took a boat out and toughed out the MN 'summer' and had our own little dance party on Minnetonka. I have the bruises alll over my legs to show for the boat jumping that went on. Then we cleaned up and hit up Minneapolis with a bang. Now Britty can head to married life with no regrets :) Can't wait for the WEDDING!!

Parker graduated. What. the. HECK? I can't believe that Parker, little baby brother, Parker, is a High School Graduate. The class of 2013 had beautiful weather for the ceremony. Can't really say the same for the Grad Party the following Sunday but the boys had a blast and everybody else had alot of Chili's sliders.

And of course all the other randoms that are going on now-a-days. We're being silly, doing yard work, drinking cocktails and fishing. 'Tis the life of a Mahal.

What's a frequent update when you get my whole life in photos? Meh.

Happy Weekend, ya'll.

A