Great website for those who suspected low progesterone or estrogen dominance. Does this fit you??
Low Progesterone or Estrogen Dominance
Low Progesterone or Estrogen Dominance
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I just want to surrender
I really just want to wave the white flag and surrender. Hey, it's a thought!
But if you really know me, I'm not going to. I may feel defeated and torn apart but this is how it goes. I know this, I know this feeling and remember it all too well.
However, after a week to mull this over, I am and was reminded that I still have other avenues. Its just frustrating that I keep going through this only to find dead ends. In fact its discouraging.
So right now my only option is to continue with NaPro and see where that avenue takes us. I may start researching some other specialist just as a back up but I'm pretty sure this is the avenue that will listen to me and follow through. I won't be just another number.
So I know I haven't done NaPro & the Creighton Model justice as far as explaining it and Erin gave me a pamphlet at our most recent appt that says:
I mean I always "knew" when my fertile times were. That wasn't the reason for doing this. The reason for doing this was more to determine biomarkers that could make a connection with my RPL (ie. My last 3 days of my period I usually spot brown which most likely means a progesterone issue and/or LPD).
Erin continues to offer encouragement and support. Assuring me that Dr. Daggs will take me seriously and do the appropriate testing. We are sure she will do a full hormonal work up. I will probably be getting blood taking every 2-3 days to determine all hormonal levels throughout my cycle. So all in all I will have about 10 blood draws in 29 days. Seriously...could anyone else not order this test? :::sigh::: I mean it makes so much sense to me instead of just worrying about what it is on day 3; its the whole cycle that matters.
We may still test NK cells and do not only various blood draws but u/s too. All to see an empty uterus :-/ but it must be done so hopefully some day it won't be empty.
Here is a great chart to see what your hormone levels should be doing on various days.
But if you really know me, I'm not going to. I may feel defeated and torn apart but this is how it goes. I know this, I know this feeling and remember it all too well.
However, after a week to mull this over, I am and was reminded that I still have other avenues. Its just frustrating that I keep going through this only to find dead ends. In fact its discouraging.
So right now my only option is to continue with NaPro and see where that avenue takes us. I may start researching some other specialist just as a back up but I'm pretty sure this is the avenue that will listen to me and follow through. I won't be just another number.
So I know I haven't done NaPro & the Creighton Model justice as far as explaining it and Erin gave me a pamphlet at our most recent appt that says:
"The Creighton Model Fertility Care System teaches couples to recognize, understand and record the changes that occur during the menstrual cycle. These changes indicate whether the reproductive system is functioning normally or not. [...]
FertilityCare Practitioners (FCPs) are allied health professionals, nurses and physician assistants who provide instruction in the Creighton Model. It is FCP who refers clients and couples to the Creighton Medical Consultants when charting of biomarkers indicates a need for intervention with NaPro Technology. NaPro is a new women's health science that is based on the Creighton Model FertilityCare System."I thought it was a better explanation then maybe what I provided before. I just added the Creighton Model link to the side of this blog. Also for backround on the Creighton Model and for pictures of what various cycles may look like click here.
I mean I always "knew" when my fertile times were. That wasn't the reason for doing this. The reason for doing this was more to determine biomarkers that could make a connection with my RPL (ie. My last 3 days of my period I usually spot brown which most likely means a progesterone issue and/or LPD).
Erin continues to offer encouragement and support. Assuring me that Dr. Daggs will take me seriously and do the appropriate testing. We are sure she will do a full hormonal work up. I will probably be getting blood taking every 2-3 days to determine all hormonal levels throughout my cycle. So all in all I will have about 10 blood draws in 29 days. Seriously...could anyone else not order this test? :::sigh::: I mean it makes so much sense to me instead of just worrying about what it is on day 3; its the whole cycle that matters.
We may still test NK cells and do not only various blood draws but u/s too. All to see an empty uterus :-/ but it must be done so hopefully some day it won't be empty.
Here is a great chart to see what your hormone levels should be doing on various days.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Yoo hoo :::waves arms::: Yoo hoo Dr. Corely? Please come back. :::long sigh::: Why is my luck such crap? I'm determined though to focus on the positives too.
So...not crazy "in love" with Dr. Peters...at least not yet. I'm really curious as to what Dr. Corely would do from here. So in short this was our conversation:
The Good:
1) Dr. Peters most importantly listed to me. Which is half the battle with most doctors. He spent 40 minutes on the phone with me.
2) He was informative. A lot of what I've read though so nothing too, too new.
3) Since last speaking with Dr. Corely, the only thing discovered was the MTHFR. He said that is easily treated with extra folic acid. It doesn't seem like he will want to treat the MTHFR with lovenox or heparin. Which I'm totally fine not doing at this point.
4) He wants Mike to have a semen analysis asap!!
5) I'm set up for Sept 20th, to have a fluid ultrasound, NK assay, cervix culture & for Mike to have a SA. We will also have my FSH & E2 blood work completed at this point.
6) He acknowledge that I'm too young to have as many m/c's as I have had.
The Bad & The Ugly: (I'm combining these because I don't know what is what, it all fits)
1) Right away he was talking IVF. At this point there is no reason to go down that road, other then being able to genetically test the embryos before implantation. I mean I'm able to get pregnant. I have one healthy child. Why on earth would I want to do IVF and spend thousands of dollars?
2) My tone totally changed after we talked about this and made me a little disgusted. I asked about what he thought about LPD and explained the whole NaPro thing at this time and what we discovered. He responded 20 years ago he would have said yes its a possibility. However, in 1998 he was part of a huge study on LPD and did 1500 endometrium biopsies on women. Done were proven to have LPD. As you and I know you can put 5 lab specialists (radiologists, doctors, lawyers, vets etc) in one room and not come up with the same diagnosis. He said modern medicine does not believe so much in LPD. He said it may be that we just don't have the technology to discover it yet. (SERIOUSLY?!?!?!) So his suggestion if we do suspect that is we do progesterone no matter what after I ovulate. :::sigh::: Once again here we go treating the symptoms and not looking further into it.
For example, if I have a pt who has knee pain, I don't just treat her knee. Sometimes the knee is from weak hip muscles, poor footwear, poor body mechanics, SI dysfunction, etc....there is sooo much that could be causing that knee pain and I look at all these factors (well the PT does, the doctor should but half the time misses it). If I or the PT overlook these issues and just strengthen the knee musculature sure the knee will get better. More than likely that patient will be back in a year with the same damn problem. Sometimes its appropriate to say ok well if this doesn't work than lets try xyz & if not we'll try abc.
Getting to my point I feel like if they just give me progesterone just because they are only treating the symptom and maybe not the underlying cause. Again let's refer to this article, inciid.org
"Should progesterone levels prove to be low, the temptation is often to "treat the symptom" by giving the patient progesterone supplementation during the luteal phase. In the case of inadequate corpus luteum performance, progesterone support may indeed be the appropriate solution. However, inadequate follicle development may also be causing the low progesterone levels. Thus, it is important to measure midcycle follicle size (via ultrasound) and estradiol levels (via a blood test)."
He was talking how biopsy's are rarely done now due to the inaccurate results. And I get that, I get that they are unreliable. I'm not asking for that. So it may be up to my new ob/gyn, Dr. Daggs to diagnose this properly and see WTH is wrong with my hormones.
3) He doesn't like that Mike is taking T. I don't blame him. But what can we do at this time?
I think that's it for now. Welcome to the good, the bad & the ugly.
So...not crazy "in love" with Dr. Peters...at least not yet. I'm really curious as to what Dr. Corely would do from here. So in short this was our conversation:
The Good:
1) Dr. Peters most importantly listed to me. Which is half the battle with most doctors. He spent 40 minutes on the phone with me.
2) He was informative. A lot of what I've read though so nothing too, too new.
3) Since last speaking with Dr. Corely, the only thing discovered was the MTHFR. He said that is easily treated with extra folic acid. It doesn't seem like he will want to treat the MTHFR with lovenox or heparin. Which I'm totally fine not doing at this point.
4) He wants Mike to have a semen analysis asap!!
5) I'm set up for Sept 20th, to have a fluid ultrasound, NK assay, cervix culture & for Mike to have a SA. We will also have my FSH & E2 blood work completed at this point.
6) He acknowledge that I'm too young to have as many m/c's as I have had.
The Bad & The Ugly: (I'm combining these because I don't know what is what, it all fits)
1) Right away he was talking IVF. At this point there is no reason to go down that road, other then being able to genetically test the embryos before implantation. I mean I'm able to get pregnant. I have one healthy child. Why on earth would I want to do IVF and spend thousands of dollars?
2) My tone totally changed after we talked about this and made me a little disgusted. I asked about what he thought about LPD and explained the whole NaPro thing at this time and what we discovered. He responded 20 years ago he would have said yes its a possibility. However, in 1998 he was part of a huge study on LPD and did 1500 endometrium biopsies on women. Done were proven to have LPD. As you and I know you can put 5 lab specialists (radiologists, doctors, lawyers, vets etc) in one room and not come up with the same diagnosis. He said modern medicine does not believe so much in LPD. He said it may be that we just don't have the technology to discover it yet. (SERIOUSLY?!?!?!) So his suggestion if we do suspect that is we do progesterone no matter what after I ovulate. :::sigh::: Once again here we go treating the symptoms and not looking further into it.
For example, if I have a pt who has knee pain, I don't just treat her knee. Sometimes the knee is from weak hip muscles, poor footwear, poor body mechanics, SI dysfunction, etc....there is sooo much that could be causing that knee pain and I look at all these factors (well the PT does, the doctor should but half the time misses it). If I or the PT overlook these issues and just strengthen the knee musculature sure the knee will get better. More than likely that patient will be back in a year with the same damn problem. Sometimes its appropriate to say ok well if this doesn't work than lets try xyz & if not we'll try abc.
Getting to my point I feel like if they just give me progesterone just because they are only treating the symptom and maybe not the underlying cause. Again let's refer to this article, inciid.org
"Should progesterone levels prove to be low, the temptation is often to "treat the symptom" by giving the patient progesterone supplementation during the luteal phase. In the case of inadequate corpus luteum performance, progesterone support may indeed be the appropriate solution. However, inadequate follicle development may also be causing the low progesterone levels. Thus, it is important to measure midcycle follicle size (via ultrasound) and estradiol levels (via a blood test)."
He was talking how biopsy's are rarely done now due to the inaccurate results. And I get that, I get that they are unreliable. I'm not asking for that. So it may be up to my new ob/gyn, Dr. Daggs to diagnose this properly and see WTH is wrong with my hormones.
3) He doesn't like that Mike is taking T. I don't blame him. But what can we do at this time?
I think that's it for now. Welcome to the good, the bad & the ugly.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
So much CM...
There is not too much to update on. I had another appt with Erin to look over my chart and discussed things that were happening. We were able to better identify my peak day (the day I ovulated) this cycle. During the 2nd half of my cycle whenever I finger test I am to record the 2nd stretch vs the first stretch. Erin believes that I produce so much cervical mucous that the first stretch is much longer vs the second. She's been right, the 2nd stretch has been much less of a stretch than the first. So...hopefully that will help out some.
I have my phone consult with Dr. Peters on Tuesday and I made an appt to see Dr. Daggs at Women's for Center Health who will be my new ob/gyn. That appt is not until Sept 12, due to insurance. I'm ready to get this show on the road! I can finally say we're almost half way there.
Since I haven't been blogging much I've been throwing myself into genealogy. I signed up again for ancestry.com and that has been fun and exciting. Helping to get my mind off of things. I have made a lot of connections not only in the tree itself but with others on ancestry. I've even got in touch with my grandmother's cousin. Crazy? Yea I know and its so much fun! Gives me something to focus on and look forward to doing.
That's it for now. I'll try to update Tuesday after my phone consult. :::crossing my fingers and toes::: that everything goes well and I like this doctor.
I have my phone consult with Dr. Peters on Tuesday and I made an appt to see Dr. Daggs at Women's for Center Health who will be my new ob/gyn. That appt is not until Sept 12, due to insurance. I'm ready to get this show on the road! I can finally say we're almost half way there.
Since I haven't been blogging much I've been throwing myself into genealogy. I signed up again for ancestry.com and that has been fun and exciting. Helping to get my mind off of things. I have made a lot of connections not only in the tree itself but with others on ancestry. I've even got in touch with my grandmother's cousin. Crazy? Yea I know and its so much fun! Gives me something to focus on and look forward to doing.
That's it for now. I'll try to update Tuesday after my phone consult. :::crossing my fingers and toes::: that everything goes well and I like this doctor.
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