AF, and more acronyms

Today, AF came. In the fertility world, AF = Aunt Flo...as in the monthly visitor. For most, AF is an unwelcome sight, for others it's a blessing. This month, it's a blessing. It means the progesterone worked and we're ready for the Clomid. This is really happening now...I can't believe it.

So here are a few acronyms I'll be using for those who don't know what foreign language I'm speaking. Some of them are kind of gross, but...yeah.

TTC: Trying to Conceive
AF: Aunt Flo (aka menses)
BFP: Big fat positive (positive pregnancy test result)
BFN: Big fat negative (negative pregnancy test result)
POAS: Pee on a stick (taking home pregnancy test)
HPT: Home Pregnancy test
DPO: Days past/post ovulation
DPIUI: Days past/post IUI
IUI: Intra-uterine insemination
O: Ovulate/ovulation

Also, I've been asked what "dust" is. Dust is another word for good thoughts, good vibes, prayers, what have you that adds to the good luck pile.

So I hope this post has been somewhat informative. So, here we go...

Instead of weekly video...

So, my post yesterday was titled "Going Whole-Hog"...well I guess it wouldn't be considered going whole hog since it's something I've wanted for the past 7 years.

I've learned in my life that you should be proud of who you are, including your heritage. I connect more with my Irish side than my Portuguese side since I know more about the former. When I got my tattoo on my ankle, I knew it's what I wanted because it's a part of who I am, and I'm proud to be who I am...so why stop there?

So, I got another one. Another tattoo. It's actually the original one I wanted when I was thinking of getting my first one, but I held off because it was quite big and I didn't want to be discouraged or scarred for life, so I started small with the Cap sign on my ankle.

This one has meant a lot to me. It's the Claddagh. It's the hands holding the heart with the crown on top. Each symbol has a meaning. The hands mean friendship, the crown means loyalty and the heart means love. This symbol meant so much to me as it is a symbol of my Irish heritage and because the different elements of the symbol mean a lot to me. I love my friends, I love my family, and I am loyal to a fault (according to my mom and Jake).

So I went back to the guy who did my ankle and the whole process took about an hour. I sat in a chair and thought the entire time "this is who I am, be proud...be proud...be proud". By the way, manufacturers of those machines need to make those things have a pleasant sound rather than the...well..tattoo needle sound. So, here it is. My #2.

Going whole-hog

I can't give away the surprise, but everyone will know tomorrow. There's something I've been waiting for 7 years to do, so I'm finally doing it tonight....are you waiting with bated breath yet?

he he he he he he...

Prayer request

I am writing from a confused and angry place right now.

Many things have changed for me in the past few weeks, and without the help of Jake, I'm pretty sure I'd be in a corner of a random room curled up into the fetal position right about now.

I do not know where to start explaining why this is happening, or what is going on. It's a very long story, and one I cannot tell without starting to cry.

I'm just please requesting my friends and family for their prayers, thoughts, and dust during this trying time for me.

p.s. Everything is fine with Jake, my back, and the fertility treatments. This has nothing to do with those.

Weekly video 4/3/09

OK, this is for my Catholic family. This is Dane Cook, making fun of church. Have some fun with it..and a "crouton-o-Christ"

Acu-what?

It seems these days, my affinity to needles isn't getting the best of me (knock on wood).

I have had the tremendous support of a group of gals from an online forum I frequently visit. For some reason, my fear of needles didn't avert me from getting a tattoo, and it's not getting the best of me towards something else: acupuncture.

I'd been thinking about getting acupuncture for infertility for a while. It's something I feel would help the process along. So, I contacted a family friend who is an acupuncturist in Berkeley and I made my first appointment for this Saturday at 2pm.

Our friend told me with acupuncture combined with treatments, there's a 40% increase in chance of success. So, on Saturday I will officially become a pin cushion. Yay for me hahahaha.

Happy April Fools

Or in SF, they call it "St. Stupid Day"...seriously.

I don't have any jokes today for anyone, honestly. I have an update though.

I took my first progesterone last night and it's finally hit me that this is real again. I'm not stressed about it, I'm excited. I had a tiny scare at the pharmacy though when I went to pick up my medication:

I go to Kaiser San Rafael because they have the IF clinic there, and because it's a good hospital not in the ghetto unlike Richmond Kaiser. But, since I'm unable to jump across the Richmond/SR bridge every time I need to pick up medicine, I ask that it can be picked up at Richmond Kaiser. My doctors have been more than happy to oblige. I called my OBGYN and told her we'd like to start treatment again and therefore I needed the medicine. She looked up what dosage worked and ordered it for me to be picked up in Richmond. So on Monday, I went to get the medication and I get to the counter of the ONE pharmacy they have there (San Rafael has about 3 pharmacies) and ask (for confirmation sake) that my doctor ordered 100mg Clomid, not 50mg. The tech looks at the computer and says "She ordered 50mg"...crapola. So I'm sitting there, waiting for my name to show up in the screen they have, and I've chalked it up to maybe I need to start again from scratch...oh well, I'll deal with it. So I got my medicine and I stopped to check everything out to make sure I got everything, and what do I find? 100mg Clomid! Woohoo!!!

I guess the tech looked at the dosage of the medicine in the pills since they only come in 50mg pills. But, I got 2 pills of 50mg for each day, so I got my 100mg I needed. It's probably less complicated than I'm making it sound. Anyways, we've begun now. I'm excited. :)