More Crazy Body Stuff

In addition to the stress/craziness that I posted about yesterday, I got a call from PPVI that my progesterone went back to Zone 1 (I wonder if there is any relation).  Back to double shots and oral progesterone.  I'm ready for my body to work right.

Zone 1...a pain in the...

PPVI called today and my progesterone is down in Zone 1 after being in Zone 2 for a while (after starting off in Zone 4 at 4 weeks).  I now have to take 200 mg PIO twice a week, and since I have 50 mg/ml through my mail order pharmacy since it was so much cheaper ($30 for 90 day supply vs $60 a bottle for the compounding pharmacy's 100 mg/ml) I have to do a shot in each hip.  I also have to add 200 mg oral progesterone daily.  Hopefully my levels will go back to at least Zone 2 quickly and I won't have to do this extra for too long.  Anyone have any hints on how to lay for the shot?  I feel  uncomfortable laying on my stomach even with a pillow.

"No Photos Please"

I had my appointment yesterday at 21 weeks, 3 days as well as my glucose tolerance test.  The glucose tolerance test drink was so disgusting; I hate fake orange flavor and I just barely finished in it the 5 minutes they allow you.  I was a bit worried I'd vomit and have to redo it later.  The good news is that I seem to have passed since my ob said they would call only if I didn't and they should have had the result by the afternoon (actually by lunch really).  The appointment went well.  Baby Blondie is looking good, but he was hiding his face behind his hand and the placenta so we didn't get a good profile shot (thus the "no photos please" title).  He also was keeping his boy parts hidden so no confirmation today on that.  My next appointment is on December 28 so I'll be 25 weeks, 3 days and D will hopefully make it to the appointment (he's going to try).  I actually lost the u/s photos for a while yesterday (they blew out of my purse when I was leaving the building, but I went back after I realized they were gone and found them.\

My progesterone is 44.2 ng/dL (20 weeks, 2 days), which is at least a rise from the last draw but it's still Zone 2.  I'm pretty sure I'll be on PIO until 36 weeks at this point.  It's funny that my level at 20 weeks is barely 3 ng/dL high than at 4 weeks (with quite a few drops in between).

We have the baptism seminar at our church this evening, so hopefully D will be off work in time (he's tends to have to work late on Wednesdays).  His baptism will be in Houston at the church where D and I got married on June 5 (so that my parents can be in the country...it's just before my brother's wedding) during one of the Masses.  He'll either wear my little brother's baptism outfit or D's family's baptism gown (depending on how big he is...he may even wear both).  I'll post pictures of each when I have them.  We have decided on his godparents but haven't asked them yet.

Cold, Progesterone, etc.

I caught a cold last week from the little boy I nanny for.  I'm feeling mostly better, but I still have yucky congestion.  Thankfully my netipot seems to be helping.  The cold does seem to be aggravating the nausea and I'm having to take the medication.  However, I haven't had any vomiting in over a week, so that's good.  I'm able to eat much better in the last week or so.  I've even made a weekly meal plan with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks.   I'm still pretty fatigued, but I'm glad the nausea and eating are better.

I got my most recent progesterone level from 12 weeks, 2 days and it was only 26.6 ng/mL (zone 2), so I'm still on 100 mg PIO twice a week.  It's frustrating to me that after having perfect (actually on the higher side) P+7 levels every time they were tested and a great P+15, my levels seem to be getting worse over time.  I'm glad that my levels are being monitored, I just wish my body wasn't continuing to be annoying.  I am still having spotting every once in a while; it seems to happen more if I don't drink enough water.

I haven't popped yet (I'm 13 weeks, 5 days), but I definitely can see the bump.  I'll probably post a picture in the next few weeks once I do.

October is a really busy month, I'm busy and traveling every weekend this month.  My 30th birthday is on Monday (the 11th).  We are going to D's cousin's wedding the weekend of Halloween and her reception is a costume one.  I have no idea what to wear (I'll be exactly 17 weeks), and I don't want to spend a lot of money.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

First OB appt.

Baby Blondie's first picture

Baby Blondie's little heart is beating at 122 beats a minute and he/she is measuring at 6 weeks exactly (I'm 6 weeks, 2 days) although the baby was really close to my uterine wall which made it harder for the tech to measure.  D was there for the u/s but not the rest of the appointment because he had to get back to work.  I'm so glad D was able to be there even though it put him behind for the rest of the day.  He took the u/s picture with him back to work, but brought it home so we could scan it.  He's going to keep it on his wall at work.  I haven't had any more spotting since Saturday.  I had my progesterone draw for PPVI and I'll be getting my PIO injection this evening.

I did decide to switch obs since my ob basically said if I want to do a natural birth I'd be better off switching to a different ob and even gave some recommendations.  I made my appointment with the new ob and it'll be on September 15.  I've got to call and see if they are going to do an u/s with the appointment (and try to convince them if they aren't planning to).  

I'm feeling quite nauseous, but I still haven't had true morning sickness quite yet.  Last night and this morning were pretty close though.  I can't eat meat (or really talk much about it).  I'm pretty tired and I have get up a lot during the night to pee.  I don't really have any breast tenderness or anything.  I'm feeling bloated, but I don't think that I've actually really changed any yet.  I have still be having pressure mainly on my left side, but my corpus luteum is on my right ovary so I don't know what that's from.  It's really funny that the baby so much smaller still than the corpus luteum but already has a heartbeat.

D would like me to let everyone know that he's awesome (and a goofball).  D is awesome because he's in cleaning the kitchen and making my dinner while I sit on the couch and rest.

My brother took D's old car (D's now driving our truck and I still have my car) so he could drive back to school (here's Friday's post about the accident...he's fine).  My parents are talking about basically transfering that car into their name and then D and I would get a new car (new to us at least) once my parents get the check and they'd help us with the down payment or whatever.

Beta #2, Bras and more

I got my second beta drawn this morning, P+17, and it was 1104.  That's almost double and the draws were less than 48 hours apart so I'm feeling good about it.  The doubling time, according to this handy beta doubling calculator, was 43.22 hours, which is about what is expected.  I also had them run the ob panel now so that I don't have to get any extra blood draws, since I've already had 3 blood draws in the last 10 days and  I'm going to be getting blood draws every two weeks.   Last night I got my first PIO shot.   The mom that I nanny for taught D how to give the shot (I have been so lucky with my nanny jobs).  D did really well, and it didn't hurt until later.

I'm feeling pretty good.  I have to eat pretty much constantly, but it's keeping the nausea at bay.  I did stand up too quickly earlier and I got dizzy.  I feel a bit bloated too.  I think the fatigue is starting to kick in too.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to buy a new bra on Saturday since I manage to leave mine at home.  I'm concerned that this bra will not fit very long (I of course went and got an expensive VS bra since they actually carry my size).  The bra was snug when I bought it and it's feeling even more now.  About long was it before any of you ladies had to get a new bra and how many have you gone through?  Any other bra advice?

D was reading some of my blog yesterday and was asking about various acronyms.  He was also asking about betas and their doubling.  He's be reading the book I got him and has learned quite a bit already.

Does anyone need a bottle (it's opened) of sustained release B6?  I just bought a new bottle less than a week ago and I'm not going to be taking it for quite a while.

I'm going to post my meds, etc. I was on this cycle tomorrow.

I'm probably going to take a commenting break for a little while.  I'm still reading, but really can't pull anything together to say.  I'm still out here praying for all of you.

Updates from calls to doctors * Updated

If you didn't see my previous post with the story of the BFP, my first ob appointment and u/s is two weeks from today, Monday, August 16.  I'll be bring the little boy I nanny for to my appointment (I already checked with his mom).  I got my local ob to order a beta for tomorrow, and the normal ob screen (I figured they'd be drawing blood then so I might as well the screen run then instead of waiting).

I also talked to PPVI.  The nurse is checking on whether Dr. H wants us to do any more antibiotics and whether I should take the Pain and Brain supplement (I stopped after the positive test until I heard from him).  They faxed the order so that I could send the bloodwork to them and that's been sent to Omaha.  He did put me on PIO and I'll be picking that up from the compounding pharmacy soon.  I'm not sure if I'll need to continue the supplementation since the local lab (I'm have it run both places) said the progesterone is greater than 40; we'll have to see what numbers PPVI gets and if they think I'm safer with supplementation.

I'm tired so I'm going to take a nap now.

Updated: Yes, I was on my first round of cyclical antibiotics this cycle.  I have no problems doing PIO the whole pregnancy if necessary.  I definitely want to do everything possible to keep this pregnancy safe.

Updates: Job, PPVI

I finally got a call from PPVI about 11 today.  The nurse said that progesterone supplementation might stop the bleeding even though my levels are generally on the high side of normal.  She also said that if a couple rounds don't clear it up, they'll move on to looking at other possible causes.  Since tomorrow is P+10, I won't be starting them until next cycle.  I'm still having sporadic bleeding, but most of the time it's just a brown/pink tinge.

On the job situation, I'm still looking.  One possible part-time summer child care job for a friend of mine has fallen through for now.  I just talked to a family who is about to adopt a newborn in June, which I think went well, but they won't need anyone until July or August (depending on when the baby is born).  I'm starting to get a bit stressed out about what I'm going to do.  

PIO

I did have a message on my home machine from PPVI from this morning with more details that I just saw (however, I'm still annoyed that I didn't hear back from them).  Dr. H wants me to do PIO shots on P+4, P+7, and P+10, which is funny to me since I have high progesterone (20 ng/mL+) every time it's tested including during crazy bleeding.  However, I'm willing to try most anything to get this stupid bleeding to stop.  Since I've already passed P+4 and P+7, I may not be starting until next cycle with the shots, but I'll find out when I talk to them tomorrow.  If I do need the shot this cycle, I'll have to go through the local compounding pharmacy and try to get in touch with my doctor friend  How do I find out whether any part of PIO will be covered by my insurance?  Any suggestions on what the least expensive way to go on getting them for next cycle is?