Infertility sucks! There's no way to really sugar coat it. Since the point of this blog is to try to look at the positive aspects of life while struggling with infertility, I thought I would take a few minutes to write about some valuable lessons I have learned through infertility.
1) Stand up for yourself with the medical profession: Before infertility, I always took information from doctors and nurses at face value. I assumed that since they were experts in their filed, that they were infallible. I didn't question test results or do any of my own research. I got burned pretty bad with the misdiagnosis by my first RE, so I've learned my lesson. Now, I'm the annoying patient that asks a million questions and then emails with even more follow up questions if I don't think the answer I've gotten has been sufficient. I've even brought in studies and information I've read online to support my questions and concerns. I'm sure they LOVE me bringing in medical advice from Dr. Google, but on more than one occasion it has been useful. Don't be afraid to do your own research and keep asking questions until you're happy with the answer.
2) Dealing with tough situations as a couple: Before getting into the height of our infertility treatments, M and I had never been through anything really hard in our relationship. Sure, we've dealt with some pretty stressful things together like planning a wedding, buy/selling a home, changing jobs, but with all of those things there was an end in sight. With IF, you never know when/if there will be an end. Every cycle is a roller coaster of emotions. M and I really have learned a lot about each other and how to communicate with each other through the ups and downs of infertility. We both agree that have become much closer though all of this and have really learned so much about we each handle stress.
3) Find an outlet: Running used to be my outlet for stress, but with an HA diagnosis that had to come to an end. For a while, I felt really lost with what to do with my free time and how to relieve stress. There were a lot of days with tears and frustration because all I wanted to do was go for a run, but knew that would only make things worse in the long run. M kept pushing me to find something to replace running, so there wasn't a huge hole in my life where running used to be. I hope to get back into running someday, but for now I'm filling my time with long walks, lots of reading, and blogging. I've probably read more in the past 6 months than I have in the past 2 years combined. When I was running and working out so much, I was always too tired to read before bed. While I don't get the same endorphin rush from reading a good book as I do from a great run, it's a great escape from everyday life.
4) Don't be ashamed: I kept my IF struggles pretty private for a while. I didn't really talk to many people about it because I was worried about how they would react. After dealing with it for a while, I realized IF is like any other illness. There's no reason to be ashamed of IF or HA. It is my diagnosis and I'm doing every damn thing possible to find a cure.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Enjoying the Wait: July Edition
July was mostly monopolized by IVF treatments, but we still managed to fit in some fun things along the way.
Girl's Night: Alison, heather and I Skype about a million times a day at work, but it had been way too long since we had seen each other outside of the office. I had a coupon for half-off pizza at Mellow Mushroom, so it was the perfect opportunity to get together. It's always fun to get together with these girls (and the Cosmic Karma pizza wasn't too bad either!)
Movies- I think I saw more movies this month than I have in years. I'm not much of a movie person. I have a short attention span, so usually the 2 plus hour time commitment is a little much. I actually saw TWO movies in the theater this month. That is unheard of for me! I saw Magic Mike with Lindsey and Heather. This was a great way to spend an unbearably hot Saturday afternoon. I also saw the independent film Moonrise Kingdom. It was such a good movie! Loved every bit of it. In addition to going to the movies, Matt and I watched quite a few movies from Redbox and OnDemand. I think my favorite was Peace, Love & Misunderstanding.
Babysitting Adventures: We had our first adventure in babysitting our niece and nephew. We had a great time taking care of them and they don't seem to have suffered any long term damage from the event :)
Laundry Room Remodel: This particular project isn't done, but we're getting close. The layout of our laundry room wasn't very functional, so we decided to pull all of the cabinets out and start over. So far, we have moved electrical outlets, stacked the washer and dryer, patched holes, and painted the walls and ceiling. The final step is to install the new cabinets we bought at Ikea. I'm really hoping we finish up soon! Of course we didn't take before pictures, but I'll take an after picture once we're finally done.
Reading: I did quite a bit of reading this month. It was a good distraction from everything else going on. Not all of the books were outstanding, but for the most part I enjoyed all of them.
-Wild
-The Age of Miracles
-Night Road
Girl's Night: Alison, heather and I Skype about a million times a day at work, but it had been way too long since we had seen each other outside of the office. I had a coupon for half-off pizza at Mellow Mushroom, so it was the perfect opportunity to get together. It's always fun to get together with these girls (and the Cosmic Karma pizza wasn't too bad either!)
Movies- I think I saw more movies this month than I have in years. I'm not much of a movie person. I have a short attention span, so usually the 2 plus hour time commitment is a little much. I actually saw TWO movies in the theater this month. That is unheard of for me! I saw Magic Mike with Lindsey and Heather. This was a great way to spend an unbearably hot Saturday afternoon. I also saw the independent film Moonrise Kingdom. It was such a good movie! Loved every bit of it. In addition to going to the movies, Matt and I watched quite a few movies from Redbox and OnDemand. I think my favorite was Peace, Love & Misunderstanding.
Babysitting Adventures: We had our first adventure in babysitting our niece and nephew. We had a great time taking care of them and they don't seem to have suffered any long term damage from the event :)
Laundry Room Remodel: This particular project isn't done, but we're getting close. The layout of our laundry room wasn't very functional, so we decided to pull all of the cabinets out and start over. So far, we have moved electrical outlets, stacked the washer and dryer, patched holes, and painted the walls and ceiling. The final step is to install the new cabinets we bought at Ikea. I'm really hoping we finish up soon! Of course we didn't take before pictures, but I'll take an after picture once we're finally done.
Reading: I did quite a bit of reading this month. It was a good distraction from everything else going on. Not all of the books were outstanding, but for the most part I enjoyed all of them.
-Wild
-The Age of Miracles
-Night Road
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