Catholic Cysters Corner - Page 79

musicteacherfla · 03-04-2007, 04:21 PM

Dear Amy,

I'm sorry you're having such a rough time.

The best diet that I have found is Weight Watchers. I strongly recommend that you try it. And I know what you mean about insurance companies and doctor bills! Don't you just hate it?!

I usually don't even know WHEN I ovulate, my cycle is so messed up! So no, you're not alone!

I hope things look up for you soon. Consider this your Lenten cross, and offer it up for those less fortunate than you!

God Bless,
Carrie

musicteacherfla · 03-05-2007, 02:40 PM

Hi, Ladies!

Well, I just got back from having an ultrasound done, to see what was causing all of my bleeding. It was confirmed that I of course have PCOS. My ovaries look like they have pimples all over them! (They're actually cysts, of course!) My uterus looks pretty normal, except for some excess endometrial lining. So now my doctor has to take a look at the results, and decide the next step. He's probably going to order a D & C--I wouldn't be surprised--in order to scrape the excess lining off of my uterus. I'll keep you posted on everything. My doctor usually calls me the next day or so. It was actually pretty cool to see everything for the first time!

Have a Blessed Day,
Carrie

Swingin' Cyster · 03-05-2007, 02:47 PM

Carrie - I'm glad to hear your doctor is taking steps to stop the bleeding. I once bled for three straight months. It was terrible. Years later I had to have a transfusion due to excessive bleeding. Not fun.
Brooke - did I know you were in Akron?? I grew up in Stow. I LOVE St. Joe's parish in Cuyahoga Falls - I particularly miss being in their choir (for noon mass - they had another one which wasn't very good). May I ask what parish you are joining? As a senior in high school, I took some classes at Akron U and would go to mass at St. Bernards downtown. What a GORGEOUS church.
Amy - I understand your struggle with your weight. I too only have like 30 pounds to lose and I'd be happy. The 40 I lost in 2005 were so easy! (thanks to Met) I also prayed a lot that the Lord help me love who I am and to help me lose weight and be healthy.

I too was wondering where some of our ladies have gone. Jennynd? Julieh? Lemonade Lady? We miss you all!

blessings, Kara

advising_lady · 03-05-2007, 04:49 PM

We're joining St. Matthews. We started going there when we lived in Ellet, but now we live in Goodyear Hts, but St. Matt's is still pretty close. Wow, I didn't know you were from Stow! We looked at houses up there when we were looking to buy a house. But I fell in love with the one we bought the second i walked inside! We've gone to St. Bernard's a couple times...Absolutely gorgeous, however, so very hot in the summer time! I actually teach and advise for the university of akron. Do you ever make it back this way?

Swingin' Cyster · 03-06-2007, 10:45 AM

My immediate family moved to Youngstown and I'll be heading home actually on St. Patrick's Day (my mom's and my birthday). I still have extended family in Stow and Northampton (which I believe is now Cuyahoga Falls) so sadly I don't come too often. When I do, I try to stop and eat lunch at Swensons.... my favorite!! It's a VERY good thing I don't live there, I'd never lose my pu-dunk-a-dunk feasting on Swensons! (I'm literally swooning at my desk.) Hopefully some day soon I can meet you at a Swensons for lunch!!
blessings,
Kara

dachshundqueen · 03-06-2007, 12:42 PM

So the morning sickness is gone which is nice, but I'm still not totally thrilled about this pregnancy.

I am still trying to convince DH that he MUST look for a new job, been trying for going on five years now to convince him. He says that we have plenty in savings and that we have a $70 surplus weekly (and that is us living super ridiculously tightly) so we must be fine.

I don't see how this can work long term. We live in an apt and there is no way possible for us to ever get a house saving $240 a month towards a downpayment. DH requires 20% down.

So I'm really down. I'm not feeling it for DH and feeling like he's in lala land not reality and am seriously concerned about the money situation which he feels isn't a problem.

We only have a $14k student loan for debt, everything else is paid for. So we don't have CC/credit problems.

Thanks for listening.

Sorry that the cycle was a bust even with the upping of the met! That blows.

Liz

musicteacherfla · 03-07-2007, 12:20 AM

Dear Liz,

It sounds like God is allowing you to the opportunity to grow closer towards Him this Lent. Carry this cross you have with Jesus helping you--give everything you have to Him. There is a reason for your cross, and there is a reason He has allowed you to have this sweet little bundle of joy (and you know that it will be a bundle of joy the first time you hold him/her!) Heartaches we go through are often blessings in disguise. At the moment things may seem unbearable, but wait until you get past all of this (and you will!) "I consider the present sufferings nothing compared to the joy yet to be revealed in us." That comes from St. Peter in scripture. You're having a little bit of purgatory on earth, so pray, pray, pray! Just trust in God, and He will provide all of your needs! Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily. Jesus loves you, my dear sister in Christ--more than you'll ever know!

((((HUGS))))

Carrie

MaryMicheal · 03-07-2007, 03:50 PM

I am new. This is my first post actually. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed - this board is so huge! I was so happy to come accross this thread for Catholics. I guess I will start by telling you about myself.

I am a 30 (almost 31) year old wife and mother. I married my high school sweetie. I am a mother to two boys here - ages 10 and 3. I have lost 4 through miscarriage. I am a stay at home homeschooling mom.

My husband and I are both cradle Catholics. Do to poor catechesis while in ccd and little instruction/example at home, we were easily led away by well meaning friends to a non-denominational church for 5 years. We enjoyed our new church and sent our oldest son to the small private school that was afilliated with the church. It wasn't until the church elders/members got into this huge fight and half of the people left to start their own church that we started looking towards our Catholic upbringing. My husband, bothered by the split, suggested we return to the Catholic Church. I looked at him in horror! Didn't he remember all the bad things we had been taught about the Catholic Church over the five years? So I set out to prove to him why we couldn't go back. In the end, I realized the Catholic Church was the only place we could be! We have been back in full communion for 3 years now. We took our son out of the small Christian school and placed him in public school for a year. There he was bullied and actually beaten with a stick once on the playground. And his A average slipped to a C average so after much prayer and discussion we decided to homeschool the next year. We are in our second year now and are loving it.
So there is my faith and family story... now onto my pcos story!

Our first child was lost through miscarriage at about 7 weeks. I quietly named our baby Mary Micheal and that is my user name for this board. Then we gave birth to our oldest son. Then I went on the depo shot for 14 months due to the urging of my mother in law ( nice, but misguided. That is a scary thought - the misguided guiding... ) Anyway I went off of depo and we started trying to conceive. We were not blessed with a pregnancy (that we know of) for 4 years. I made several doctors appointments, but I always heard the same thing " you are young - it will happen" because I had a very regular cycle. Then it did happen, but at my 12 week check up our baby did not have a heart beat. My rude doctor said "It must of just died because the size is right on". Then a year later we conceived our next son. And after a very hard ( lots of spotting and slow heart rate ) our son was born very healthy - praise God! Then my periods were very irregular - I was only having maybe 6 in a year if that. Plus, I was growing thck chin hair and some chest hair. I made an appointment with a doctor ( not the rude one above ) because I had not had a period in 96 days. She took blood and prescribed provera. Then had me chart for 2 months. When I came back she ran some more blood tests and told me that she wanted to say I had pcos, but because my bloodwork had come back normal she could not. She sent me home with a chart and told me she would see me in a year. That was September 2005. So when a year rolled around I tried to make an appointment with her but she had left the state. I then made an appointment with the new doctor there ( inspite of infrequent periods I conceived once and had an early miscarriage in that year). I brought the new doctor my chart and she looked over my labs. Then she said to me " I am sorry but you do have pcos. I am quickly realizing that Dr.XXX was ultra conservative in diagnosing patients. I come from a Reproductive Endocrinology Clinic and according to everything I see and what you have told me there is no doubt. I would like to do bloodwork again and find out from you what you would like to do with the information now that you know. I would like to see you back in a couple of weeks." Well, my husband and I would like to have more children, I told her that when I went back in December. She said great and prescribed provera (because I had not had a period in a couple months ) and clomid ( 50mgs ). I started the clomid in Januray and conceived, but I lost that baby also. I am on day 25 of my second cycle of clomid. I had two vaginal ultrasounds on days 16 and 19 and my doctor was dissappointed. She did not see anything promising. She said "I will put it to you this way, if I was back at the REclinic and we were doing insemination, we would not do one this month. Still try though with your husband - it could happen. Here is a prescription for 100 mg of clomid for your next cycle. I want to see you for another ultrsound on day 14 or 15 next cycle" so much for the it could happen - lol.

So, here I am. Boy, are you still with me? That is a lot of info, but it feels so good to get it off my chest! Emotionally I have been all over the place. It has been tough.
I am trying to lose weight. I have lost 4 lbs, but it is so hard. I have always been a "thicker" person but I really need to lose like 50 lbs. My doctor says 20 would be excellent so I am shooting for that first.

Anyway, I will stop for now. I look forward to getting to know everyone. Thanks for reading about me.

annem84 · 03-07-2007, 05:08 PM

Ok, today I am starting Curves--is this called the "easy way out". Uggh, I have had so many people telling me that. I just wish I could do this and be able to lose weight and still have others be happy with me. I dont do diets well--ok, not much at all and this is the only way I will be ordered to exercise--not paying $30 for nothing. So prayers for peace would be appreciated right now.

CelticSpirit · 03-07-2007, 08:01 PM

Wow, I missed a lot!!!

Welcome to all the newbies! It's great seeing so many new people here!

I've been MIA for a bit because of all the stuff going on with my kiddos.

For all the newbies, I'm a special needs mommy and my hands are more than full. We're still in the dx'ing stage of everything with one child and the tx'ing stage with another.

I have to run for now, but I wanted to pop in and say Hello!

musicteacherfla · 03-08-2007, 12:23 AM

Welcome, Mary Micheal!

And welcome home to Mother Church! I'm sorry for all of your losses, but I hope and pray that things will turn around for you soon. Before I was married, my former doctor put me on depo shots to help regulate my cycle. But all it did was mess me up, and to this day my current (very devout Catholic) doctor told me that those depo shots are affecting me...that was about four years ago. May God, in His infinite mercy, heal our bodies!

Anne, best wishes with your Curves program! I hope it works out for you!

Stacie!!!!

It's so good to have you back! We've missed you!!!

I'm still waiting to hear back from my doctor. He must be busy delivering babies! I'll let y'all know what he says, just as soon as I find out.

Have a Blessed Thursday,
Carrie

AshleyKatie · 03-08-2007, 11:59 AM

Hello! I've been following this thread for a little while and thought I'd actually peek in and offer an introduction and ask a question.

I'm 24, newly married and newly Catholic. My husband and I joined the church last year at Easter Vigil and married in the Church in September. We were both drawn to the Catholic church in different ways, but it took us getting together to actually investigate and join. It has been a great experience! We are currently RCIA group leaders and loving it. We've definitely found our home.

Unfortunately, my PCOS is not anything new. I was diagnosed when I was 17. I had symptoms of excess hair, high blood pressure and irregular periods. Through ultrasounds, we found that I had cysts. However, it was mainly one cyst that went back and forth from month to month instead of the pearl-like multiple cysts. Also, my levels of testoterone were only slightly elevated. I did not show signs of insulin resistance.

My treatment has involved BCP and spironolactone. I was on Metformin briefly, but the side effects were rough and I never really gave it a shot. Today, I am only on Yasmin.

Jump to December 2007 - I was concerned about insulin resistance. My GYN keeps testing me for IR, but says I don't have it. She refused to prescribe Metformin because she thinks it will make my blood sugar too low (even though a different doctor had no problem doing this in the past). She says if I "suddenly gain 50 pounds" then I should be concerned. But I feel something is off and have recently gained 10, and frankly waiting until I gain 50 is not an option.

Lately, I have been reading a lot and looking to manage my PCOS without BCP. I have been experiencing fatigue and stomach issues, which I am pretty sure are a side effects of Yasmin. I do not think Yasmin is healthy, and I would like to be more in line with the Church's teaching on birth control.

Today, I am focusing on slimming down. I am 5'5 and weigh around 175. I eliminated most sugar from my diet and I'm eating only whole grains. It has been easier than I thought the last couple of weeks - which I definitely attribute to prayer: St. Rita to be exact! I am down 2-3 pounds.

Once I am down 20lbs, I am planning to give NFP a try. My goal is to chart my cycles to see exactly what my body is doing. Through weight reduction, diet and exercise, I am hoping that I can manage PCOS naturally. Ultimately, my hope is that baby-making will be easier as a result.

Thanks for reading if you've made it this far!
And now for my question!

Does anyone have experience or knowledge about PCOS + NFP to avoid pregnancy?
I have read PCOS cycles can be hard to chart because excess estrogen can make fertility signs hard to read. Of course, we're not opposed to a little one, but would like to wait a while yet.

Thank you!

Ashley

Swingin' Cyster · 03-08-2007, 12:46 PM

Hi Ashley and Mary Michael! It's so good to see such great Catholic cysters! Man, when I first joined the board a couple years ago it was pretty lonely just me and Stacie but now so many more, how terrific! I'm Kara, the Catholic single. You'll hear me complain about this state of life a lot - God give me grace to embrace where you have me now. I work at Ave Maria Radio and am surrounded by really intelligent Catholic theologians, so if you have any questions, fire away.
May the Lord bless all my cysters. I pray for you all daily and ask the intercession of St. Gianna Molla.
blessings,
Kara

annem84 · 03-08-2007, 02:08 PM

Welcome to all the Newbies! It is great to see fellow Catholic Cysters joining us. A lot of the other ladies have much more info and insight into answering questions but can give my .02 when needed.

musicteacherfla · 03-08-2007, 03:41 PM

Welcome, Ashley, and welcome home to Mother Church!

I am a convert as well! This year at Easter it will be 13 years since I came home!

I was married a little over a year ago, and my DH & I went through NFP training for the sympto-thermal method to prepare us for marriage. After we married, we discovered that my PCOS needed a different NFP method, if we were to be able to figure out how I was going to be able to conceive. So I talked to a friend of mine, who is a Creighton Model instructor of NFP, and we started going to her for instruction. Through her I found a wonderful Catholic doctor who is trained in reading the Creighton charts--in fact he was trained at the Pope Paul VI Institute for Infertility in Omaha, Nebraska--which is THE training center for devout Catholic doctors and Creighton instructors. With the Creighton Model, my friend--in cooperation with my doctor--is able to cater how I use the method to my own unique PCOS cycles. I love Creighton because you don't have to take your temperature every morning...in fact, they discourage that. Plus it gives my DH and me a better idea of when to BD if we want to conceive, and also when not to if we don't feel we can afford it right then.

I would check with your local diocese, as most likely there is at least one Creighton model instructor in your area. I would not recommend any other method of NFP. It's works just as well if you want to conceive or not conceive, and your instructor will teach you how to chart based on your wishes. And find a good Catholic OB-GYN or Family Practitioner in your area that will support your decision to go off the pill. More than likely he or she will know how to treat your PCOS without the pill, and may even know about the Creighton model and how to look at your charts. There are also several websites that can give you tons of information. Here are the ones from my Creigton model book:

www.creightonmodel.com
www.naprotechnology.com
www.popepaulvi.com
www.fertilitycare.org
www.galaxymall.com/loveandlife
www.aafcp.org

I know that one of those websites will give you a listing of all of the instructors in the country. I hope you can find one in your area. You definitely want to get off of the pill ASAP, as the pill can affect your cycle for years after you get off of it (believe me, I know). Plus, it's much better for you and your husband's souls, and will bring you closer to each other and to God.

Let me know if I can be of anymore help!

God Bless,
Carrie