Category: Life

Tired but Hopeful

The past week or so has been more than a little tiring.

Things started off well. I was blessed with some donated medicine from my fertility center, which had been prescribed for me in the past but we weren’t able to afford. It’s called Gonal-f and it’s used to help a woman develop a mature egg during her cycle. I was very grateful for this, but I wasn’t really prepared for how the medicine would affect me.

I learned to give myself the first injection of the Gonal-f Friday night, as my husband had to work and couldn’t help. I watched the instructional video numerous times and was finally able to administer the shot to myself successfully. I was proud of this. 🙂 Over the weekend and into the beginning of this week I have been able to give myself the injection around the same time each evening, as instructed. I’ve been excited to see if it will help.

After a day or two of the shots I started to feel really emotional and more depressed than I normally do. It seems that these can be side effects of the medicine…so I’ve been trying my best to stay upbeat and to express my emotions in healthy ways.

I think the medicine is also making me super tired. I haven’t felt like doing much of anything recently, and small tasks leave me feeling drained. It seems that the sleepiness can be a side effect of the medicine too – but all of the side effects will be well worth it if it helps me to conceive this cycle.

This fertility process has been quite the journey so far! My husband Roy and I have learned a lot of new terminology and information. We’ve made many visits to the fertility center (most of the time I go by myself, as Roy has to work, but he comes when he can and when he needs to). We’ve learned how to administer injections. I’ve received countless ultrasounds and blood testings. And we’ve had many highs and lows.

But we’re seeking God’s guidance and embarking on this journey together. Even though the process is stressful, it’s helping us to grow closer to each other. And we’re trying our best to remain hopeful for the future.

The rest we must leave in the Lord’s hands, trusting that He is good and that He knows what is best for us. ❤

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Pets and Mental Health

Pets are awesome.

They bring love, companionship, fun, a sense of responsibility, and lots and lots of cuddling to a home (among other things). But pets may also help in another way: promoting good mental health.

I know for me, my dog Daisy and cat Misty keep me upbeat. I feel good as I take care of them. In turn, my pets are happy – which makes me feel doubly good.

I love taking Daisy for walks when the weather is nice. Not only does it get me outside in the sun and get me exercising a bit, but it provides opportunities for me to take photos of nature and of me and my pup. And Daisy doesn’t mind getting out and about as well as keeping on top of the scents in her neighborhood!

Misty is older and does a lot of sleeping and eating, but I still enjoy petting her and brushing her giving her “kitty kisses.” She likes the sun, her cat condo, her food (and treats), and long naps. Just knowing she’s there gives me a good feeling.

All of these benefits help me with my depression and anxiety.

I don’t feel as alone knowing that my pets are around. It also helps that they can snuggle with me in silence – I don’t have to be a certain way around them, and I don’t need to verbally express what’s going on in my mind or hope that their response is encouraging instead of disheartening.

I would recommend a pet to anyone struggling with mental health issues who won’t be too overwhelmed by trying to take care of it!

How is your relationship with your pets? Do they help to keep you in good spirits? Is there a benefit they provide to you that I haven’t mentioned? ❤

The pup and I on our walk today! Yes, I may be acting just a tad goofy in this pic.

Decisions, Decisions

So I had a little bit of a different outcome at the fertility doctor’s office today.

I came in for an US (ultrasound), bloodwork, and a post coital test. I could only do the post coital test if my follicle (developing egg) was large enough – and it was, thankfully. They performed the test and after looking at my sample through a microscope, they informed me that my results were favorable. What does this mean? The Hubby and I can do things naturally this month, if we would like to.

For the previous four months, Roy and I have had an IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) procedure performed at the appropriate time in my cycle. My cervical mucus had not been a favorable environment, so they needed to bypass all of that by performing the IUI’s. My doctor had advised me to take Mucinex to help with my mucus, but this hadn’t been successful. After taking the Mucinex and then completing the post coital test this cycle, however, they determined that my mucus was a good environment.

Which means we’re faced with a different question than normal: should we go ahead and do things naturally this cycle, or should we have the IUI performed anyway? The pro to having the IUI performed anyway would be that if I failed to conceive this cycle, we would know that it wasn’t because of my cervical mucus, as the IUI would bypass that. The con to performing the IUI is the procedure itself. It’s a little bit involved…and it’s not easy to go through. Doing things naturally would be much easier. But we want to do what will produce the most favorable results.

The doctor’s office will be calling me later today to give me the results of my bloodwork and to provide further instructions. At that point I guess we’ll have to talk it over and make a decision. We are praying, and I know that other people are praying for us, so I trust that God will guide us in the way He knows is best.

Undergoing fertility treatments has definitely been a journey in and of itself for us. But the Lord has been faithful so far…and I believe that He will finish what He has begun, in His time and His way.

Thank you so much for your support as we undertake this journey! And I wanted to apologize for all of the terminology in this post – it’s difficult to provide more detail than a cursory explanation without utilizing the terms. But please let me know if I was too confusing or if anything seemed overly candid. Thanks again. ❤

 

Photo by Jake Melara on Unsplash