Background and waiting games

For a little background, my hubby and I have been TTC for a little over 2 years.  Five years ago, I stopped having periods entirely.  I went to the same apathetic doctor for years that repeatedly put me on rounds of estrogen and clomid to no avail, telling me I was thin and worked out too much.  After 3 years of this, I decided to change doctors.  My new doctor did a round of tests, insuring me that we would get to the bottom of my MIA period.  This wonderful doctor quickly discovered that I had a large tumor pressing on my pituitary gland causing a high level of prolactin to be released into my system.  For those of you who do not know, prolactin is a hormone that increases rapidly once a woman conceives.  It stops the ovaries from releasing eggs and prepares the body for housing a baby for 9 months.  Wala!  This diagnosis made perfect sense!!!  Only problem was that I had to have a neurosurgeon go in and remove the large tumor, and no one really knew how my body would react to the removal of a tumor that had been pressing on my pituitary gland for the better part of 14 years. 

It’s been a year since the surgery.  Here’s the good news, my prolactin levels are now completely normal and I am tumor free.  The bad news is that I now have hypothyroidism and have to take drugs every day to supplement the hormones that are no longer produced by my pituitary gland.  I still have not had a period, and we’ve spent thousands on infertility treatments (thank you insurance for covering NOTHING!). 

So, hubby and I are now on a break from going to our infertility doctor.  We have been on a break since May, as we simply ran out of money and couldn’t go on to doing IUI at the time.  Also, we decided to give my body a little more time to heal after the surgery.  Fourteen years is a long time to have a golf ball sized tumor in your head!

As depressed as I was in May to take a break, it’s actually been a really great thing for us.  We’ve reconnected and have really learned to have fun together again!  It’s easy to get caught up when you’re going through this infertility fight and forget why you’re trying for this baby all along.  We have decided to give it another go in January.  I feel good about where we are as a couple and we’ve had some time to squirrel a little money away.  So, here’s to hope!!