This blog post needs a disclaimer for sure. You all have probably been accustomed to hearing about my lady parts but this one is going to take things a bit further. STOP right now if you don't want to hear about it! I'm serious! Back out now while you still can!!!!
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I'm a member of a couple holistic mom's groups on FB and I saw "vagina steaming" a couple times and it sparked my interest. Now, I'm sure your reaction to that statement is much like my husbands and my mothers. A lot of laughing and "Are you seriously considering that?" comments. At this point in my infertility career, I'm willing to try just about anything. After the insane amount of "steaming" comments, I made DH listen to a web cast from http://www.birth-institute.com/alternative-medicine-and-childbirth/vaginal-steams. Fascinating stuff! I encourage you all to check it out. DH was much more on board once he listened to it all with me. Without totally grossing you out, one of the biggest eye openers was about the color of my AF. Ms. Arvigo asked if AF was dark in the beginning, middle, and/or the end. Our periods should be pink and mine? It's RARELY pink. You can get more info about it at the link but dark blood means old blood and I have a LOT of old blood. I'm not getting cleared out the way I should so that's where vaginal steaming comes in.
Last week I walked into Whole Foods for the first time in my life. I've been to Trader Joe's, Sprouts, and our current favorite Earth Fare but never Whole Foods. I went in with the intention to buy organic herbs for my "steaming." I couldn't get fresh organic oregano (so I got two kinds of dried) but I did get fresh organic Thyme, Basil, and Rosemary. Of course the lady checking out my herbs just had to ask, "So, are you doing anything specific with these?" I said, "I don't think you want to know." She then said, "Oh come on, what are you making?" I smiled and just said, "I'm using them for aromatherapy." Which is totally true but uh, what if I would have said, "Yep, I'm going to use them to steam up my vagina!" ?? I just snickered as I walked out...
Ok, so here's the low down: I boiled approximately two quarts of water (with the lid on) with about a cup of fresh organic herbs and about 1/2 an ounce of the dried oregano. I simmered the pot for about 10 minutes and then let it steep for 5 more minutes (my kitchen smelled nicely of an Italian dinner!). I brought the pot upstairs and put it under a plastic chair with slats. I wrapped my half naked self in a blanket and then took off the lid. Ahhhhh... (20 minutes of steam and then an hour in warm blankets in bed...if nothing else, it sure was relaxing!)
You're supposed to steam 3 times the week before you get AF. I was able to do it twice and the second time was COMPLETELY different than the first. I ordered this Sitz bath from amazon and the experience was much, much different. (It was MUCH hotter with a whole lot more steam so be prepared for that if you do it with a sitz bath!)
Vaginal steaming is supposed to "clean out" my uterus of old blood, moisten the cervix and also my ovaries. It can also help with cramping and for after birth cleansing. It certainly can't hurt anything and it will be interesting to note if there are any changes to AF. Currently I'm on CD 3 and I'm not sure of any differences yet (should take approx. 3 cycles for changes), though I had much MORE cramping this time around. It was also advised to do a steam on the morning of a IVF/FET transfer...It's worth a try!
I have my first chiropractor appt tomorrow and my first acupuncture appt on Wednesday. I'm nervous!
Please let me know if any of you out there try vaginal steaming! I'll be doing it again next month and this time with organic lavender and oregano. :)
Monday, November 10, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
Local FET and some Halloween
Once again I've been slacking on my blog but here's some of the latest.
In the middle of Sept I decided it was finally time to get things rolling for our FET. If you recall, our one embryo that continued to grow from my last IVF, was frozen and sent to a local RE clinic in San Antonio. (Side note-SAAMC does not deal with anything frozen, sperm or embryo.) I couldn't even remember the name of the clinic the embryo was shipped to and had to do some searching. I played phone tag with that clinic for weeks until I finally was able to make an appt for the FET. Unfortunately, I once again had high hopes that this process would be painless and easy. HA! I was told that I would be considered a new patient with them (even though I was seen there back in 2009 for monitoring) and the wait for a new patient PHONE consult was a MONTH. They also wanted to charge me $100 for that five minute phone conversation and wanted me to redo my SIS (water u/s that I've done 8 times before) and tons of blood work. DH and I did some thinking and number crunching (and I did a lot of phone calling) and we decided that it would be better if we had the embryo shipped here since I'm already an established patient at the clinic in GA. I worked with a FABULOUS shipping company called Cryoport. I highly recommend them for all your human tissue shipping needs. They were extremely efficient, helpful, and FAST. They were also $300 cheaper than when I shipped embryos back in 2007.
Yes, I HATE the clinic here. Of all the RE clinics I've worked with (SEVEN of them I might add) this GA clinic is my absolute least favorite. They rubbed me the wrong way (literally, haha!) from my first appt with them but DH and I agreed this would be easier than traveling to TX for the FET. Of course, it's been very difficult getting started again here too. They want me to have an appt (more blood work too) before starting anything. Of course, my referral with Tricare ran out so I have to have an appt with my PCM (which is today in fact) in order to get another one for my appt on Nov 17. I'll be VERY surprised if this FET happens before 2015.
My advice to you: DON'T WAIT. Especially if you're military. This whole process is incredibly slow and obviously timed with your cycle so DON'T WAIT! There's always so many hoops to jump through, tests to have completed, and waiting time for appts. I know that if we were staying in one place, this would be a TON easier but that just isn't our life at the moment. I only wish I wouldn't have waited so long in starting this FET.
I have decided to do a couple things differently for this FET. I'm hoping to start acupuncture (to help with blood flow to my uterus) and uterine massage soon. Hopefully I'll be a little better with the blog so I can share my experiences with combining western and eastern medicine for this FET.
In other news, my little skittle is still getting over pneumonia and my DH has a stress fractured femur. Sigh. Though, I know things could always be worse :)
Here are a couple pictures from Halloween:
In the middle of Sept I decided it was finally time to get things rolling for our FET. If you recall, our one embryo that continued to grow from my last IVF, was frozen and sent to a local RE clinic in San Antonio. (Side note-SAAMC does not deal with anything frozen, sperm or embryo.) I couldn't even remember the name of the clinic the embryo was shipped to and had to do some searching. I played phone tag with that clinic for weeks until I finally was able to make an appt for the FET. Unfortunately, I once again had high hopes that this process would be painless and easy. HA! I was told that I would be considered a new patient with them (even though I was seen there back in 2009 for monitoring) and the wait for a new patient PHONE consult was a MONTH. They also wanted to charge me $100 for that five minute phone conversation and wanted me to redo my SIS (water u/s that I've done 8 times before) and tons of blood work. DH and I did some thinking and number crunching (and I did a lot of phone calling) and we decided that it would be better if we had the embryo shipped here since I'm already an established patient at the clinic in GA. I worked with a FABULOUS shipping company called Cryoport. I highly recommend them for all your human tissue shipping needs. They were extremely efficient, helpful, and FAST. They were also $300 cheaper than when I shipped embryos back in 2007.
Yes, I HATE the clinic here. Of all the RE clinics I've worked with (SEVEN of them I might add) this GA clinic is my absolute least favorite. They rubbed me the wrong way (literally, haha!) from my first appt with them but DH and I agreed this would be easier than traveling to TX for the FET. Of course, it's been very difficult getting started again here too. They want me to have an appt (more blood work too) before starting anything. Of course, my referral with Tricare ran out so I have to have an appt with my PCM (which is today in fact) in order to get another one for my appt on Nov 17. I'll be VERY surprised if this FET happens before 2015.
My advice to you: DON'T WAIT. Especially if you're military. This whole process is incredibly slow and obviously timed with your cycle so DON'T WAIT! There's always so many hoops to jump through, tests to have completed, and waiting time for appts. I know that if we were staying in one place, this would be a TON easier but that just isn't our life at the moment. I only wish I wouldn't have waited so long in starting this FET.
I have decided to do a couple things differently for this FET. I'm hoping to start acupuncture (to help with blood flow to my uterus) and uterine massage soon. Hopefully I'll be a little better with the blog so I can share my experiences with combining western and eastern medicine for this FET.
In other news, my little skittle is still getting over pneumonia and my DH has a stress fractured femur. Sigh. Though, I know things could always be worse :)
Here are a couple pictures from Halloween:
Jax stayed outside with me the entire time I handed out candy. For the longest time, he sat with his bum on the door frame and didn't move a muscle when kids came up. Adults from the neighborhood were taking pictures of him and were shocked at how great of a dog he was! I know he was pouting because of his pilot costume but it was hilarious!
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