Decisions, Decisions

Life is all about making decisions.....what to eat, what to wear....what choice of medical treatment to take. Yeah you can see where this entry is going today.

Most family and friends don't know that I've dealt with crazy menstrual cycles since I first started them as a 10 yr old girl. Painful, long, heavy. I went through a time frame where they made me throw up. I also went through a time where the pain was so bad I could barely move for a day or two. And let's not forget the major hormonal imbalances that went untreated for years. Hormonal imbalances that caused major rage a week or two prior to each cycle.

As an adult, I get told if I just lost weight. Until recently doctors tell me that's the only reason......totally blowing me off that I've had these problems since I was younger and thinner. Yes the issues now might go away if I lost weight but don't tell me that's the only reason and refuse to treat me. So I finally have found some doctors that are looking at the whole picture.....that it's not "just the weight"....and are willing to treat me. This has its ups and downs as well. Here's why:

See currently I'm having periods where I'll start and bleed heavily for 4-6 weeks at a time. I may get 2 weeks off and then boom I'm on it again. And I'm having to wear a hospital sized pad (you know the onese they give you after you have a baby) to prevent leakage and I still have to be prepared with changes of clothes or a towel or blanket to sit on just in case. Yeah not fun, not fun at all.

So I'm fed up with this. I'm 36, going on 37 and have dealt with period issues since I was 10. I'm so through! I have 2 beautiful girls and I knew as soon as my second baby was placed in my arms at birth that our family was complete. Just wish my husband knew this too but he's realizing that in this case, it's my body and he really has no say in all this.......well til today.

Today I had a doctor appt. I needed to get test results from a vaginal ultrasound they did back in December. (yeah I procrastinate at times) All that showed that everything was fine and no fibroids or anything like that. No surprise there. I've been through that before. So next step discuss treatment.

Doctor wants to put me on birth control or an IUD. Birth control pills just make me gain weight and because I have had high blood pressure issues in the past they don't want to go that route. Neither do I. Another side effect for me is migraines and vomiting from even a low dosage. Like worse than my 9 months of all day sickness when I was pregnant. So they are pushing the IUD instead. Well I've done my homework on that. Nope, doesn't thrill me for quite a few reasons.

Another option is an endometrial ablation. I'm really pushing for that one. However, other doctors haven't been clear on why they won't even discuss it til the doctor I saw today (one good thing about having Kaiser Permanente is you can keep trying doctors til you find the one you like). She told me that though the chances of getting pregnant are slim after having the e.a., that it can happen and there are greater risks if you do get pregnant. So one needs to be using some form of birth control. Since pills are out of the question and I'm not keen on the IUD, that means either I need my tubes tied or Clark needs the big V-----vasectomy. Hmmmm.....wish I had known before I gave birth that our family was complete...I'd have had the doctor tie my tubes before they stitched me up after the c-section. So now I have to discuss all this with Clark. Should be interesting. LOL!

Let's see.....the ob/gyn also wants me to see my primary care doctor to discuss weight management and a gastric bypass. Says Kaiser covers it. I'm not to sure about doing that procedure. I mean my weight didn't come on over night. I know I'm not perfect in how I eat and I may never cook as healthy as some of my friends out there. But we try our best to provide decently balanced diet for our family. Portion control isn't too bad unless we eat out. So that isn't a huge issue. For me, it's sweets (I've got a huge sweet tooth, esp when it comes to chocolate), pepsi, and lack of exercise. I am doing better in the exercise dept, I have been walking Katelyn to school 3-5 days a week since September. I know I've lost some weight....was down 1 pant size last time I needed new ones. I do feel more energy and I don't get tired less than half-way down the street like I did the first few weeks. Well hot days are hard on me but I have never done well in the heat...not even as a young child. I combat that by bringing bottled water with me and I'm fine. My next step is drinking less pepsi. I'm going to get a jar. For every day that I crave a pepsi and DON'T go out and buy a 2 liter, I'll put the cost of it in the jar. That's about $2. When the jar is full I'll deposit it into our account and save it for something special. Not sure what yet. I think that will help me. I've never tried cutting back that way. Luckily I love water so drinking more won't be an issue. Sweet tooth....okay that'll be hard. I don't want to never say never. Maybe if I do the money thing there as well and only indulge for birthdays, holidays, special occasions then I'll be fine and it'll make it that much sweeter when I do wait. More exercise.....well if we can get the heavy bleeding stopped I can get back to water aerobics. I was losing weight that way and loving it too.

But I think I'll still discuss it all with the primary care doctor anyhow.

Oh yeah, the ob/gyn also wants to a endometrial biopsy. Last few times they've been unable to do one because of the pain involved for me when they try. And yes, that's even with taking motrin or advil before the appt. So this doctor is going one step further....she is having me take 3 motrin and 1 valium before the biopsy. I'll need Clark to drive me to and from that appt. People I got really high when they removed my wisdom teeth. I get loopy with drugs to numb me for my c-sections. I'll make sure Clark gets some pictures or video clips for your viewing pleasure when I take the valium for that appt. LOL!

And last but not least....I have blood work that needs doing. It's the time of year that I test for diabetes. I've tested annually since having Katelyn and my first round of gestational diabetes. So that's nothing new. Since I have to do that, the ob/gyn is having blood work ordered to check all my cholesterol levels and also my thyroid levels as well. I'll go ahead and do all that tomorrow and get it out of the way.

So that is all that is happening with me.