Quick Takes: Saturday Edition

I had the best of intentions to blog yesterday, and it's very clear that didn't happen.  I have so many blog spots I want to write, I even made a list of them all!  Yes, I'm a nerd, type-A personality.  Even though I'm not working at the moment, my days are full and my list of posts grows longer and longer.  But I'm here now- better late than never.

1. Cycle news: Thanks to those of you that commented or sent sweet emails asking whatever happened with my cycle.  AF showed her ugly head one week late. It was a crazy cycle.  I did my CD 3 blood work on Monday, but it meant I didn't have the results to show my Napro Dr. at my appointment on Thursday.  I'm still waiting for those Day 3 test results.

2. Napro appt.:  I had a follow-up appointment with my Napro Dr. on Thursday.  It's been 3 months since my last appointment, and we talked through the food intolerance testing, my saliva test results, and my wacky, late, brown bleeding cycle.  For whatever reason, he was really compassionate at the appointment talking about how frustrated I must be since I've been at this for so long (2 1/2 years seeing him).  He admitted that we're heading into uncharted territory because everything that usually works on patients hasn't worked on me.  In other words, I'm a special case. Lovely.  I'd rather not be a special case.  I did joke that he's getting lots of extra research practice with me because he's a research professor.  He laughed and agreed.

3. New medication: Because of all my brown spotting lately, we talked about doing antibiotic cycles for my dh and I as one option to see if the brown was due to infection.  Or the other option was to try low-dose naltrexone.  I was fine with either, so he suggested the LDN because I still have some fatigue in the afternoon.  We're going to try it for 2 cycles and see what happens.  I start with 1.5 mg in the evening for 2 weeks, then I go to 3 mg for another 2 weeks, and finally I'm at 4.5 mg indefinitely.  I remember reading about LDN from Dr. Boyle's research as well as some of your blogs, so I was familiar with the name of the medication at least.  I know it's used to treat autoimmune issues, but I'm curious as to what some of your experiences were with LDN.  What did it do to your cycle?  Other things to be aware of?  Let me know.  As with any new medication, I'm hopeful that this might be the magic pill to get my health in order.  I can't not have hope when a new treatment begins.  I thought Cortisol or T3 would due the trick, but they didn't.  We'll see if LDN does.

4.Napro blogs: My doctor was surprised I was familiar with LDN and I told him it was because of Napro blogs!  He was very curious and wanted to know more.  I talked about how supportive the community is and how I learn more about Napro through other girls experiences.  He wants a few of the blogs to look at and possibly refer other patients to for information or support, so which ones do you suggest I give him?   I'm not giving him mine, but which blogs speak about Napro the most/best?

5. Weight loss: I'm currently at 7 pounds lost in 6 weeks and still going strong on my gluten-, dairy-, sugar-, and egg-free diet. I've actually cut back on my exercise because I've been losing so much weight.  I never thought those words would come out of my PCOS mouth!  Now I try to get in 30-45 minutes of exercise (walking, Zumba, or resistance training at Curves) 5-6 days a week, but that's all.  I'm down to a size 4, which I don't think I ever have been in my entire life- at least not as long as I can remember.  Less chub equals better hormone function, in my opinion, and the doctor said I'm still in a healthy weight range and could lose up to 15 more pounds before he really would get worried!  15 more pounds...I don't think I could do that, nor am I going to try.  

6. A free concert: Friday night dh and I were able to enjoy a free concert from the comfort of our front porch thanks to the direction of the wind.  A popular group from the 70s-80s was in town to play at the fairgrounds, and since we only live a mile or two from there and the wind was blowing the right way, we could hear most of the concert and the talking clearly.  It was so fun. We made margaritas and sat out front enjoying the cooler night air and listening to songs we knew most of.

7. 4th of July on July 1st?: Last night our local town had its 4th of July concert and fireworks show.  They never do it on the 4th, or on a Sunday or Monday, and I'll probably never understand why (it's a predominant religion thing).  On a day when Canadians were celebrating Canada Day, we were celebrating American independence...ha, ha. We went to the concert- a Christian country music group- and the fireworks display, so now we're done celebrating the 4th and don't have celebrations planned Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, which seems so strange.

8. Packing: In our free time, we've been trying to pack for our trip.  Russian airlines have different baggage restrictions than US airlines (think smaller and lighter), so we're trying to pack to meet the Russian requirements.  In the US, we could check a70 pound bag, have a carry-on and one personal item with us on board.  In Russia, we can check a 44 pound bag and have one carry-on and no personal items.  So we're trying to pack for 2 1/2 weeks into a 44 pound suitcase and one carry-on.  Quite the challenge, but I'm finding it's best to pack clothes, shoes, umbrellas, etc. that will not come home with us because we throw them away or donate them to the hotel staff. In other words, we might look a little tattered, faded, or mismatched in our travel photos, but we'll have plenty of room in our bags for souvenirs to bring home!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!