Thursday, January 31, 2013

Fact or Fiction

I promised myself I wouldn't blog tonight. I was going to wait until tomorrow, after the results of my progesterone test was in; so that I didn't just ramble and so I actually had news to share, but, sometimes, I am unstoppable.

I learned something today at work and I wanted to share it.

If you follow my blog, you know I have PCOS. My acupuncturist, who doubles as my boss, has been doing a lot of research on PCOS since she has seen an increase of patients battling infertility with a PCOS diagnosis.

She had some articles that talked about ovulation and detection of ovulation in women with PCOS. She says that women with PCOS will always test positive with OPKs because of the elevated LH levels that stay stagnant in the body. This I knew. But, she had an article that caught my attention and it was something I did not know!

When I ovulate I always feel side ache pains. They are deep and low. But, I also experience uterine pain. I have always thought that meant my period was coming, so for the next 14 days or so I waited for AF. This article says that women with PCOS may experience uterine cramping during ovulation; that the cramping mimic those of a menstrual cycle.

As I looked back in my notebooks I see that every ovulation I had the same symptoms; uterine cramping being one of them! I started feeling the uterus cramping on CD 19-20. I know I ovulate late on my own, but with Femara I am pretty sure I ovulate on time, or at least pretty close. The ovulation pains, which feel like sharp, pulling sensation, have been continuous on the left side since CD 15, maybe even 13. The last time we did injection treatments and had a follicle check before triggering. I told the doctor that I thought I was going to ovulate from the left side since that was where all my pain was. Well, I was wrong. The left side had zero follicles and the right ovary had one 19mm follicle. My left ovary is just a bit enlarged. Anyway, I found it interesting that all this time I thought I was imagining this pain, that it was all fiction, but it turns out AF and ovulation pains are very similar. Lesson learned.

The other thing the article talked about was stress. It said that spending all your time thinking about and worrying about the number and size of follicles, or Estradiol levels, we should be focusing on the desire. It mentioned belly massage over thought. The act of doing something rather than over thinking things seemed to produce positive results. So next time you start to worry or stress over numbers, stop. Start massaging your belly while focusing your energy on the desire.



Thanks for reading through my rambling.

6 comments:

  1. I think that it's pretty cool that your boss/acupuncturist has been researching this in your behalf. Also, I like your blatherings and reading about your random thoughts :) I'm glad you decided to post before tomorrow!

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    1. My boss is pretty neat. She is 30 year old, independent woman and an MMA fighter! LOL! She is pretty hard core but has such a tender heart.
      Thanks for appreciating my ramblings... I do that from time to time.
      So glad we connected!

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  2. I agree with Amber. How cool that your boss is proactive with your infertility!

    Can't wait to hear the results of progesterone today.

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    1. Toni- She is pretty great! Now, if I can just make some of the office staff just as great I would be a winner! LOL!

      You know I will post as soon as I get the results! Man, I hope we didn't miss ovulation if it did occur.

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  3. My ovulation pain is a lot worse than AF pain. Mine didn't start until I started treatment, and then when my cycles returned after I was done nursing I felt each and every ovulation after.

    I was originally diagnosed with PCOS due to the ultrasounds having multiple follicles, but my hormone levels were within normal range. And after I had an exploratory lap my DR confirmed I did not have PCOS and diagnosed me as unexplained. (I also have a 9 year old, she was 3/4/5 throughout my infertility struggle, whom I had no difficulty getting pregnant with, and a 1 year old, who I had no trouble getting pregnant with either)

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  4. Most of my blood work was normal, but I do have elevated testosterone and DHEAS levels; along so many other PCOS traits. I always have about 20-30 follicles at each base line U/S.

    The ovulation pains are so much different than AF. They are not a dull tightening cramp, they are sharp stabbing pains (for me anyway). I feel my ovaries from CD 10-20!

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