Hi Ya'll ! - Delving into my weight... loss

Wow, first comments. How cool is that! Thanks guys!

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but I've been going to a bariatric clinic the last year or so to lose weight.  I go every 4 weeks, they check my blood pressure, give me a pep talk, give me a load of medication, and take my money.

I started going to this doctor/clinic last fall to lose weight for the 2nd IVF.  Their program worked.  The IVF did not. 

I've never been much of a dieter. I have been overweight most of my life, and have been pretty comfortable.  I have gone about life pretty much eating whatever I want and doing whatever I want.  It had not really bothered me that I'm a chunky monkey.  That is...until infertility smacked me in the face.  It all changed.  To give myself the best chance for the IVF/pregnancy to work, I knew I had to lose weight.  I was more motivated than I have ever been about anything.

I've lost 37 pounds so far! yaay! The last few visits, the weight loss hadn't been that great, so yesterday she changed some things around.  Basically I take a multi-vitamin, Fish Oil, Chromate (something_or_other) and a small dose of Phentermine.  I'm also on the normal PCOS crap - Metformin and Spironolactone. You should see my pill dispenser at work, I've got something for everyone! heh heh

I'm now 194.2 (my scale says 192). I haven't been under 200lbs in a bazillion years.  I don't believe the medication is the key to the weight loss, however.  Yes, I can tell a difference when I skip them.  But I'm learning to eat again.  I eat very few carbohydrates and I eat alot more protein.  Looking back, I was eating carbs 3 meals a day and very little protein.  Some days no protein at all. 

When was the last time you went to a restaurant and NOT order french fries? I realized I was eating certain things because I always ate those things.  I always got fries with the burger. I always got breadsticks and pasta at Olive Garden.  There are other things to eat, and there are other things on the menu.  It just takes more effort. More planning. More gumption.

Have I mastered eating better?  Not by a long shot.  Do I have bad days? Ooooh yea.  Will I keep the weight off? Holy cow, I hope so!

Holy Cow! I just got my...my...PERIOD! (TMI Alert!)

My husband and I have been TTC for 3.5 years. Prior to that, I went probably 10+ years without a period.  Doctors didn't seem to be worried and I just rolled along without much of a worry.  Throughout the last 3 years, the occasional periods I had were medically induced.

You may or may not know, I've lost 37lbs (and still losing, thankyouverymuch) since last summer.  I have been told by many, that losing weight will sometimes cause you to start having periods again.  I didn't believe them..until now. I have been having periods!  I've only just started documenting the days the last couple of months, but I'm having periods around 29-34 days.  Simply amazing!

What does this mean? I mean, aside from very very noticible PMS, cramping, and other fun things happen to my body every month? I was totally spoiled to not have periods for 10 years.

I have no idea what it means.  Do you?

Life has an interesting way of showing itself.

My husband and I made a concerted effort to remain childless before we met.  It was very important for us to wait until the time was right for us to begin a family.  This time took longer that most couples, but we were ok with that. 

I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I won't go into major details, you can google just like anyone. But it basically creates all sorts of medical issues that generally have to be treated individually.  Some problems it can cause: High Blood Pressure, Insulin Resistence, hirsutism, difficulty losing weight, little to no periods, abnormal hormone levels, etc.  Of course, it can also cause fertility issues. Everyone is different.

I have known most of my life, due to this condition and having no periods, that I would need "assistance" in getting pregnant. My thoughts were that I could get pregnant, I would just need a little help from the medical world.  Little did I know that life had a different path for me.

My husband and I started "trying" to get pregnant pretty much on our honeymoon April 2006.  Nothing happened so shortly thereafter, we tried Clomid.  After multiple rounds of clomid, complete with a bazillion ultrasounds, mood swings and crazy swings, still nothing. It appeared that I was ovulating on the Clomid, just no baby.

We were referred to a local fertility center where we began a more agressive approach. I'm not sure when this was exactly, maybe towards the beginning or middle of 2007. We did a few IUIs (Intrauterine Insemination). Nothing.

The fertility center did a semen check on my husband and found he had some issues with his "dudes". I believe he had low count, and just poor quality spermies. They suggested we try IVF.

...to be continued.