Hi all - Just back a couple of days from our two-week tour of Baja, Mexico with the kids. Can't write much now - have four houseguests who will be waking up soon - but we had a fabulous time and many adventures, and I learned lots of new things, such as: - the best way to treat Portuguese Man-o-war stings is to rub vinegar into them - burros can be very cute and dog-like in their devotion to their master (who knew? Of course, Einstein was a very special burro ) - you can get excellent medical care at the Centro de Especialidades Medicales in La Paz (S13 broke his ankle, but not badly, and not until near the end of the trip - they took fine care of him there) - Cardons are the tallest cacti in the world - similar to saguaro but bigger - cirios, or "boojum trees", grow so slowly that a 50 foot tree is 500 years old - and I'm SURE Dr. Seuss must have travelled to the place in Baja which is their only habitat, because his drawings MUST have been inspired by these crazy upside-down hairy-carrot things
We had a great time and the snorkeling in Cabo Pulmo was spectacular.
Now - to get S18 ready to leave for college on Friday!
Yes, lucky it was near the end, it would have been disatrous if it had happened early in this trip and S13 couldn't have snorkeled! On the same day he broke his ankle, I missed a stair at the Hotel California in Todos Santos and wrecked my foot - xrays don't show a fracture, but my whole foot swelled up and I suspect there is a microscopic "stress fracture" of the big toe from the way it feels and is healing. Still, no biggie - at least it's my left foot, and the car I am driving to take S18 to college is an automatic.
H was in pretty good humor on this trip (much to my relief - he hasn't done long car trips very well in the past). One small moment, though, stands out in my mind. We had just left our motel, on our second-to-last day on the road, and were going to the gas station in Loreto to tank up. We were on schedule, had no commitments or particular urgency, plenty of time to get to our next destination by dark, etc. We pull into the station and H says (vehemently) "Sh_t!" - in such a tone of voice that I immediately think something is wrong with the truck, or he just realized he left his wallet in la Paz, or some other catastrophe has befallen us. I asked him what was wrong - and he says it's because there are two cars in front of him at the pumps! (Not a line, mind you, just the two pumps are occupied and we might have to wait a minute for one to open up). Then I did something out of character - I said "You said Sh_t for THAT?" - and H got mad at me for criticizing him.
Now mind you - my H is not normally an abrasive, cussing kind of guy. To me, this stood out just as a measure of the effects of depression. Here we were, having an excellent vacation (one he says is one of the best we've ever taken), no rush or pressures, in fact he's loving it because the pace there is so slow and leisurely and everyone is so friendly and happy - but waiting 30 seconds at the gas pump (actually, just the prospect of that remote possibility) sends him into a flurry of anger. It must really be awful to live through that - and although my H is doing great 95% of the time now, those little glimpses kind of keep me walking on eggshells too - so I sympathize with those of you who are living with more seriously depressed spouses. This just reminded me of what it used to be like living with H before he got treatment.
Well - off to start packing up S18's things for college. Anybody know a really good brand of booklight? All the ones I've tried cast a really poor or uneven light.
Your trip sounds fabulous, in spite of the broken ankle. I am glad to hear Baja isn't a medical "cry in the wilderness"
I will have to check out those cacti...It has always been a fantasy of mine to design a "Dr. Suess" house, with arches upon arches, and balconies on top of balconies, and crazy plant landscaping!
Quote: Now - to get S18 ready to leave for college on Friday!
Oh Boy! I am sure that is going to be something...a mixture of emotions...
We have been counting down to D's departure. She gets her dorm assignment on Friday, and we go to SLO on Sept 9th. Getting the "x-tra long" sheets was an all day adventure!
I am sure you will be busy this weekend, but be sure to e-mail me whenever you are in Berekely and are up for a visit.
take care, SG
Survival Goddess "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." -Alice Walker
Sorry to trouble you but you're a doctor, right? I am going through the egg donation process and wanted to ask you a couple of questions before I go to the clinic for the first jab tomorrow.
I have noticed the drugs contain hydrochloric acid - obviously this is corrosive so I'm worried that it's unsafe to inject into myself. The data sheet said nausea and vomiting were side effects but it was the 'incomplete' version of the data, so I got the dr's version of the data and it also listed 'acute respiratory distress' and 'cardiovascular problems' - well, I already suffer with migraines which is a cardiovascular problem and in the safety study I read about, there were 12 women who suffered migraine as a side-effect out of only about 550 women, which is a big percentage.
Having these already, I am worried that it will trigger them.
Plus I think I might be contraindicated as it listed prolactin as a contraindication and my DD has only just stopped breast feeding at age 3, and I still produce milk as it's not dried up yet.
It also listed vaginal cancer as a contraindication. I don't have cancer but I do have vestibulodynia syndrome (VS) which the clinic were aware of when they accepted me as a donor - since this is a long-term health problem of that area, I am concerned that might be a contraindication also.
I wrote an email to the clinic to ask and I phoned them but they ignored me. I was told to speak to the nurse tomorrow when I have the jab.
I feel worried that they didn't tell me the side-effects first (I was only told about bloating and stomach cramps) and that they haven't checked to see whether I am contraindicated. I would rather speak to a dr than a nurse and was hoping I could pick your brains before I go in tomorrow.
Hi Jo - I'll try to address you questions one at a time:
- Hydrochloric acid - not a worry. The amount is miniscule, and it's the same acid your body produces in your stomach. Just not an issue.
- respiratory distress and cardiovascular problems - female hormones such as birth control pills can be associated in rare cases with blood clotting problems - DVTs and pulmonary emboli and the like - just as pregnancy itself can. Actually, the risk from BCPs is less than the risk from pregnancy. Presumably, the fertility drugs have a similar effect - probably greater than on no hormones, but less than being pregnant.
- I doubt your prolactin levels are high enough to be an issue, but I would make sure the doctor's office knows you just finished breastfeeding - it might mean your fertility is still suppressed.
- migraines can definitely be triggered by hormonal shifts - many women get them monthly with their cycle. The rapid shifts up and down with the drugs certainly might trigger a migraine. If, however, your migraines have never been cyclical, or you've taken birth control pills without an increase in migraine frequency or severity, it's probably not as big a risk.
- as for the VS, what has your response to hormones been in the past? Did it get better or worse while you were pregnant? Does it get better or worse during your menstrual cycle? If it has been unaffected by hormones in the past, it probably won't react to this. If it has been very sensitive to hormonal changes in the past, it might flare up (or get better, depending) while you go through this hormone shift.
Hope this helps. You might also try to find a forum for women undergoing fertility treatment or for egg donors to ask about their experiences with the drugs.
Firstly I have never taken female hormones or the pill etc because frankly I am terrified of the idea. XH and I used condoms and calendar method.
I think the migraines are cycle related as they always occur 1 day before my period, bad enough to have me lying in darkened room all day. It's always 1 day before the period, on the dot. I can sometimes stop them using peppermint tea as I read about that in a health manual.
The VS is at a constant level and never gets any better. It did get a bit better each time I gave birth (because of the stretching, I think) but I can't keep having more babies so that's out as a cure. Sometimes it is bad enough to prevent me from having a SL, the rest of the time I just get dryness, tender when pressed etc, sore etc.
I reacted badly to the ami they put me on for it (sleeping all the time, dizzy, sickness, not wanting to eat etc) so I came off them myself after a few weeks as sick as a dog. The topical steroid they put me on didn't work and I was getting colds every 3 weeks so I stopped that and have had no treatment since 1997 and have just started homeopathy for it.
I would be terrified if it flared up permanently as I did have open lesions with it in my teenage years which is when it was diagnosed. It gets a bit better during a period but only because of the moisture - I am less dry so it's less sore.
I have become so fed up with it I just want the dr to cut the damn area out but they're not into invasive treatments in the UK.
The data sheet said vaginal dryness was a side-effect so I'd hate to do something that made me even sicker, also depression is a contraindication and as everybody knows on this BB I had depression really bad. I told them that at the time and they still accepted me. I am wondering if they read the data sheet?
Anyway, thanks for your help. I expected that they would have had a consultation with me about this but no, it's just straight in for the jab.
You've reassured me on the hydrochloric acid a bit - I just keep thinking about science at school where you have to wear protective eye gear and stuff.
I would think the depression history would be a good reason NOT to do this, Jo.
I hate to say this, but in a situation like this - you are really NOT their patient. Yes, maybe in a legal sense, but not really in a moral sense - because they are somewhat more interested in getting those eggs than they are in making sure you are the lowest-poissible-risk donor candidate. They probably don't get that many donors (one of the reasons private sources in the States will pay big bucks for the right donors) and so they view your relative contraindications as less important than their other patient's desire to get pregnant. Makes me a little bit queasy, all of it. After all, it's not like you're donating a kidney to save a life. These people do have adoption as an option. Although the risks to you are not huge, there are risks - and I think the professionals tend to downplay them a bit, because, after all, this is their business.
Well, I just got back from taking S18 off to college! Lucky boy, he got one of the "single" rooms (a quad setup with two singles off of a central double) - so he has three roomates but can close his own door at nite. That, plus a view of San Francisco!
And one thing I was worried about was S18 getting enough exercise, since he tends to be lazy in that regard and needs to lose a few pounds - but since it's a good 7 flights of stairs from street level to his room, I think he'll get in great shape despite himself!
He's relieved, too, to find out that of the 19 books he had to buy for his classes, three he has already read. Two of his classes (English and Classical Greece) are reading the Odyssey - which he has already read several times for different classes. I think finding that out has taken the edge off of the intimidation factor.
No tears on my part - just happiness and excitement for him. We had fun helping him put his dorm room together. (A little trouble hanging up his wall hangings - the walls are made of concrete! The whole building was made in the 1920's out of poured concrete, with rough wooden forms used to give it texture on the outside.)
I talked with GBO on the phone when I was there, but it was too busy a weekend to get together - I promised her, though, that I would try to arrive early or stay late on Parent's weekend (Oct 1) so that maybe we can have a Bay Area girls' nite out.
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