June 29, 2010

Is the big day for my MRI.  It's a huge day for me and I am excited and nervous.  I hope to have Tux weaned by then although I kinda don't think it will happen.  It is my goal though!  The little man makes it so hard!  He loves nursing and so do I!  I've been trying to replace his morning nursing w/ a bottle and it makes him sad and so it makes me sad!  Not to mention it is extremely painful by about noon.  Anyway, I am excited to see what this thing in my head has been doing in the last 6 months.  I need to call my neurosurgeon and get my previous MRI pictures back so we have something to compare too!  I can't wait to tell him about my levels and hopefully the MRI will hold some good news as well :)  Wish me luck....again....

MRI date coming soon!

It is almost time....I am going to get an MRI soon!  I still need to call my Dr. to set a date, but I'm hoping to schedule one before the end of June.  I have mixed feelings about it....I am super claustrophobic and I am not looking forward to the end of nursing, but I have a good feeling about the tumor!  I am sure it is shrinking and I can't wait for this confirmation!  My headaches are gone, I have a lot more energy and I have lost weight.  My prolactin levels are down drastically from February and I just plain feel good!  I'm happy that I can raise my son w/out the debilitating side effects I got from the Bromo and I hope to be able to have more babies w/out fertility meds.  I have a better outlook on life in general even on a rainy day like today...Stay tuned for the MRI date!!!

Results!!! Very infomative....

I got some more results in the mail the other day and I am up to 130!!!  ARGGGHHHH!  I have been off of frankincense for 2 weeks and I am sure that was the problem.  No worries though, I ordered two bottle this time so hopefully I won't run out...I'm going to start stocking up so I don't EVER RUN OUT AGAIN!!!  I feel like I am now a month behind and further away from getting pregnant again.  I don't know that I am ready for that yet (hence why I am still nursing I guess) but when I am ready I want it to happen PRONTO!  I feel like I am getting old and my dream of having 5 or 6 kids is just not going to happen, but I still want 3 or 4 at least and that won't happen if my body is trying to shed prolactin all the time.  The good news is that I am taking the frankincense again and I am going to get another blood test in a couple weeks and hopefully this one will be good news :)  At least I know for sure that when I take the Frank my levels decrease and when I don't they increase....Weaning is going well.  Tux takes two bottles a day and nursed twice a day.  I am going to drop another nursing as soon as I feel like I won't explode!  Wish me luck :)

Well, it's been an interesting two weeks.  I ran out of frankincense a couple weeks ago and haven't been able to order until a couple of days ago.  I've been taking other oils hoping to maintain my progress and keep the levels low until my frankincense gets here.  I went to the lab the other day and requested some blood work to see what my levels have been doing while weaning and w/out frankincense.  Maybe weaning will help keep them lower anyway!  We will see!  I have not felt like my milk is out of control which is huge considering I was out of frank and cutting down nursing!  I pray that is a good sign.  I think the results should come in the mail at the beginning of next week.  I'm crossing my fingers.  If all goes well, I will step up a notch w/ the weaning and Tux will be nursing 50% and taking a bottle 50% of the time.  My goal is to be done nursing by the end of June.  I'm hoping my body will be able to accept that pace and that I will be able to dry up the natural way....I bet my specialists would say that is impossible for me too!  So, wish me luck in proving them wrong!!!!

And, just for the fun of it...here is a picture of me and my babe snuggling :)  Man I love this kid!!!

Weaning....

I have decided to wean Tux. For most people this may not be a big deal, but for someone w/ prolactinoma it can be quit difficult! Since I hate the medications that makes it easy for me, I will not be going cold turkey. I started replacing one feeding w/ a bottle yesterday and WOW....not so fun for either of us! My babe loves nursing and so do I. He's never taken a bottle well and I've always had MORE than enough milk for him and probably another baby to boot! I want my prolactin to continue to drop and hopefully get to where I can get pregnant again w/out taking all the bromo and clomid, plus I want to have another MRI soon and that is much easier when I am not nursing.

Anyway, so yesterday was the first day I gave him a bottle. It didn't take long for my body to realize Tux had missed a meal and I was in a fair amount of pain! I applied peppermint oil (reduces lactation) and gritted my teeth. Tux did not take the bottle right away, it took a half an hour of crying and distraction before he finally latched on. Phew! Hopefully today will not be as bad on either of us....his next meal is coming up as soon as he wakes up from his nap. I thought ahead and have already applied the peppermint, so hopefully that will help and soon my body will get used to this skipped meal. The plan is to cut a meal out every week or every other week until all four feedings are formula :( It makes me sad, but I need to get my body back to normal before the next one can be on his/her way!

Frankincense Side effects

We recently moved and I don't have the internet....so I will try to make up for lost time!!!  Here we go!

So, I've had a few people ask me if I've had side effects from taking essential oils and I will tell you yes I have!  I say how much I hate side effects from meds, but I should be more specific when I say side effects....I should say I hate NEGATIVE side effects. I've never had great skin or a good complexion.  When I was pregnant I loved my skin!  I was pretty much zit free for 9 months!  I keep saying I can't wait to get pregnant again because I love my skin when pregnant, but since taking Frankincense my skin has been a lot more smooth and radiant.  My hubby is constantly raving about it and get this....I pretty much don't wash my face anymore!  I've always done it morning and night as long as I can remember.  The medicated stuff w/ the 2% zit zapper no less...Well,  my zit zapper days are over and have been for about 2 months now :)

Have you ever seen those shampoo commercials w/ the woman who pick up their hair and let is drop strand by strand and it is so silky and smooth, it is almost impossible?!?  I recently decided maybe I should try out for one of those commercials!  My hair is impossibly silky and smooth!  It is about twice as thick as it used to be!  I love it.

Some of the other side effects are more energy than I've had in years, loss of weight, prolactin levels have dropped drastically (from 241 to 108 in about 3 months), I've hardly been sick all winter, and I just feel really good pretty much all the time!

P.S.  Did I mention my stretch marks (or lack thereof)?  Probably not, since I've forgotten that I once had them :)

Prolactin Results!

I got my prolactin results in the mail today!  My doc put a smiley face on this one because I am down to 108!!!!  Need I say more?!?