Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Respite

I am getting a little ahead of myself by posting this, but MM and I have agreed that if I am not pregnant at the end of this cycle, we are going to take a couple of months off from treatment.  We have two upcoming trips: a weekend trip to San Diego in mid July, and a three-day trip to Chicago in mid August.  Between these two trips, we will be using up the disposable income which we might otherwise use for fertility drugs and IUIs during those months, and we would prefer not to go into debt at this point. . . . especially when we may be looking at donor egg IVF somewhere down the line.

I have discussed here recently my desire to take a break from treatments.  (By the way, hats off to those of you reading who continue cycling month after month, sometimes for years, with no break.  I just can't do it . . . either because I cannot tolerate the ups and downs, or because I cannot coordinate things with my work schedule, or both.)  I intend to take advantage of our break to work out more often and more vigorously and to try and lose some weight.  I have talked about this on a few occasions but really have not followed through.  

I am still on the fence about whether to do a strict diet with medical intervention or to just go back to Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, both of which have worked for me in the past.  I would love to have the rapid weight loss that would occur on the hCG diet or on Medifast or the like, but I'm just not sure I have the willpower to pull that off.  Plus our trips will make following a very restrictive eating plan even more difficult than usual.

MM already goes to the gym 5-6 days a week, so I could certainly just go with him.  Also, I bought a Groupon for 12 one-hour sessions of "boot camp" which must be used consecutively, three sessions a week for four weeks.  (It was a smokin' deal: usual price $249, Groupon price $29).  I could use that.  I have to use it at some point before it expires next May.

My headaches have actually already improved a lot since I have completely cut out caffeine and a whole slew of other potential migraine triggers.  That is not to say that I have had no headaches at all, but in the past two weeks, I have only had two headaches, and only one of those was a migraine.  I have only taken one dose of Excedrin.  One.  (BTW, I do realize that Excedin contains caffeine, though not as much as a strong cup of coffee.)  Two weeks with only two headaches is a HUGE improvement for me, and I had grown accustomed to taking analgesics often.  So at least that's one thing I don't really need to "work on" during our (anticipated) break.

Whether Sunday's HPT is a BFP or a BFN, I won't be doing treatment in July and August at least.  Let's hope it's the former.  If it's yet another BFN, we will start treatment again the cycle after we return from Chicago. . . . probably in September.  And if it's a BFP, I pray it will be a healthy pregnancy that doesn't end until we take a healthy baby home from the hospital about nine months later.

MM has expressed a desire to be "done with these IUIs" before the end of 2010.  I am not in disagreement with him.  (Obviously we both hope that I will be pregnant by then.)  Our insurance will only cover a portion of six IUIs, lifetime, and we have already done four as of today, so we only have two more left.  Even if, worst case scenario, IUI #4 and #5 (planned in September) are BFNs, we will still have plenty of time to fit in IUI #6 before the year ends.

It's nice to know that there is an end in sight, one way or another.

3 comments:

  1. I cut out caffeine and also had a dramatic decrease in headaches. Amazing difference. I also gave up the diet coke, which I think has helped a lot.

    Boot camp -- actually, a good friend of mine runs a business in AZ running boot camps and other personal training options. His name is Lee Gough and his programs are amazing. Where did you buy your Groupon from?

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  2. As much as I whine about being on a break (because, let's face it, I want a baby NOW), taking some time off is a really good thing. The first couple of weeks were tough because I'm such a control freak and I'm dying to know what's going on with my body. But now, I feel good. There's no pressure. We finally get time to relax and not worry about when my next apppointment is or whether DH needs to stick me with a needle.

    Good luck with whatever you decide.

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  3. Over the three years that we were trying to get pg, we took quite a few breaks. The breaks were a great stess relief for me and allowed me to go back at it with a renewed sense of vigor. (Vigor's not really the right word, but I couldn't find the one I'm looking for.. I just mean that I didn't feel so broken going into the next cycle). I hope you don't need a break and that Sunday's test will be a BFP.

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