Birth Control Pills, Weight Loss and Airlines... Oh My

On Tuesday we have to meet with our GP and I have to get a prescription for low dose estrogen birth control pills. I have no clue as to brands and such since I haven't been on birth control for about 15 years. I've been doing some research and hope to get one with little side effects.

I lost 4 lbs last weer and 2 inches off my waist. DH did better than that. We're settling into the frequency of eating but DH seems to be having some issues with the limited red meat (we only have it once or twice a week). Otherwise, we're making good progress and will do some resistance training tonight. We'll get back to running on Friday or Saturday - thankfully only 2-3 miles at a time.

I think we're going to take Aer Lingus from London (Gatwick) to Vienna and then drive to Zlin this summer. The Bermuda flight arrives at Gatwick and most flights to Vienna and Prague then seem to leave from Heathrow. I do not feel like rushing to change airports so Aer Lingus seems like a reasonable choice. Neither of us has flown them though but they do partner with Jet Blue - I hope that means they're pretty comparable. The flight from London to Vienna is 2 1/2 hours so I hope it is at least comfortable.

Planning and getting ready for the 1/2 marathon

I've booked the hotel for London. We'll be staying at our regular place - the Grovesnor which is over Victoria Station. We'll check in on Sept 11 and check out on the 13th. We got a family room for 3 (one double bed and a single bed) so my mom will stay with us. It cuts the cost down quite a bit. I wonder where in the hotel the family rooms are located.

Tomorrow is the 1/2 marathon. I'm so nervous. I'm worried about my knees, the heat, the humidity, the crowds. I just want us to finish. We feel pretty ready though. The healthy eating has made somewhat of a difference. DH has lost 6 lbs and I'm down about 4lbs (and an inch off my waist and hips - I'll find out for certain at my weigh in on Tuesday). Anyhow, I hope we can maintain a good pace and run more than walk tomorrow. I pray that we don't enjoy it too much and want to do it again in the future....

Anyhow, after the 1/2 marathon we plan to keep up running (2-3 miles a few times a week) with the resistance training and yoga. We go to see the GP on June 2nd to sort out the BC prescription for me and to order the STD tests for the clinic (I need to follow up with them on the desired timing of the test). I then have my first acupuncture visit scheduled with the new acupuncturist on June 11th. While I hope to be at a good weight by July and maintain it for August, I have ordered two pairs of drawstring pants for our adventure this summer. I want to find a few more travel items with elastic waist or such so that the bloating is not a big deal.

Changing Our Diet

I don't think I've said much about the nutrifit programme that I signed up for. We decided to have a healthier diet leading up to our vacation in Aug. DH ended up not registering since there are no males in the class. The instructor knows what we'll be doing so the meals are developed for both of us. On Friday I was a bit peeved about my measurements and DH was irritated by the food (he doesn't like nuts, hummus, etc but it's on the menu..). Anyhow, having the menu is great because I don't have to think about it. I just buy the food and cook. I made turkey chili and creamy pasta with hummus on Saturday and DH actually liked it. Yesterday I had class and I got my analysis back. Thankfully we have good habits - wholegrains, lots of veg and water. Unfortunately, we have too much saturated fat in our diet - primarily due to the amount of milk we drink/ eat and the red meats and fried foods in our diet. DH can only have 2% milk with his cereal and has to have water or diluted fruit juice (I was stunned over the amount of sugar in juice). I cannot have dairy at all as it looks like I have an allergy. I was so sad... Anyhow, we're eating more than enough food. DH is getting used to smaller portions and seems fine with most of what I've given him ( he picked the raspberries out of the mixed berries I gave him with brekfast though and he hated the honey flax seed Kashi granola bar). Since the milk is the only major lifestyle change for us, I think we'll be fine eating this way for the next 3 months and beyond.

The juice thing really got to me. The nutritionist recommends only 10oz of diluted juice daily because of the sugar in the juice. Apparently one 8oz glass of juice has 14 teaspoons of sugar, which is one tablespoon less than if you drank a bottle of say Tradewinds Iced Tea. Also, did you know that a small yogurt has about 6 teaspoons of sugar. It's mad. She recommends that if you want yogurt, eat plain yogurt with fresh berries added. To figure out the number of teaspoons of sugar in a food item, look at the serving size and multiply the grams of sugar accordingly. Then divide that by 4 and you'll see the number of teaspoons (roughly). Looking at our diet from my food diary, we were getting a lot of sugar and didn't even realize it. Thankfully, DH agreed that was a huge problem. He even went on a 10K run on his own tonight since his milk and juice intake is worse than mine.

Anyhow, I survived my first dairy-free day. I wonder when the withdrawal will kick in. It was crazy at work and then I had a board meeting but I managed to have my meals and snacks and it kept my energy pretty level all day. I got home about 8.30 and did 30 minutes of Power 90 Sculpt 1-2, Ab Ripper 100 (hell!!!) and a Gaiam yoga practice for fatigue. I feel pretty good. I'm sad that I didn't get to run but DH didn't work out with me either so I think we're even. I was hoping to run tomorrow morning but we're leaving home early since the Pipe Band has been invited to take part in a German movie. I do have dance class though so I should be fine. I might also take a short run while DH is at practice.

Planning .... and anxiety

We finally heard back from the B&B and have booked a room so we're staying in Zlin. It'll be a room with a kitchette so I think we're going to be quite comfortable - we'll take our tempurpedic pillows since we'll be there for so long. It looks like my dad won't come. I'm a little freaked about being out there without DH and having to drive with my mom on my own - I'm also a little freaked about how race relations are out there for the time DH might not be there since I remember being followed in stores in Bratislava because they throught I was a gypsy. I swear I'm looking for things to worry about. Hopefully I won't ever be alone - that's the goal. If I have to go in November for try #2, there might be a time that I'd be there alone. I hope we don't have to resort to that! I told DH I'm staying at the spa hotel in Luhacovice if I have to go by myself because everything is included in the price (room, food, 7 spa treatments, acupuncture, transfers to Zlin for appointments and they can even arrange overnight trips to Vienna for me - it's just too expensive for two of us to stay there if we're traveling a lot).

My mom is going to arrive in CZ on Aug 28 and return home with us on Sept 13 (she'll get to see a few shows with us in London!). I emailed the dialysis clinic coordinator and gave her the specifics. The coordinator is great. She contacted a clinic in Zlin so my mom can decide whether she wants to travel to the other clinic (for vacationers) for treatment. If she says she wants to go to the other clinic, they'll arrange transportation for her. The coordinator is also contacting a clinic in London for her. The customer service is amazing over there!

I also sent the details to the b&b for her room. As for us, we're compiling questions for the doctor and starting to make a list of what we need to take. I've met a lady on the IVF Connections board who will be there at the same time and I guess there will be more. I'm praying like mad that this works. I may even start a novena to give me some focus!

I went for the weigh-in for the nutrition and fitness program. My weight was pretty much the same as it has been for the last couple of months, give or take 3lbs. My waist to hip ratio was awful! I was not happy, guess I have a goal to work towards...

Getting the dates sorted...

Heard back from Petra this morning. We're scheduled for our first appointment at 10am on August 21. We don't have to pay a deposit for straight IVF (it appears it is required for a donor egg cycle though). I've been asked to add an extra folic acid supplement and I need to see my doctor on June 2 to get the BC prescription (will have to start them on June 27 or July 25 and take the last pill on Aug 17). We also need to set up the date for the STD testing for mid to late June.

I'll be out there from Aug 20 (leave here the night of the 19) until Sept 13 (might leave CZ between the 9 and 11 for London).

Let the Planning Begin...

Apparently there was a 3 day holiday in the Czech Republic last week celebrating the end of WW2 so Petra (the coordinator) has been inundated with emails and phone calls. I am therefore waiting to receive the info on making the deposit and further information to give to my doctor. Additionally, she supposedly can help with making hotel reservations. In the meantime we looked at three hotels/b&bs. 2 were in Zlin and one was a spa hotel in a town 15 minutes away. My mom did the first round of research and the cost for the spa hotel was double to quadruple that of the b&b in Zlin but it included breakfast & dinner and 2 spa treatments per day. I honestly do not believe we'd be able to do all of the treatments and with overnight trips to Vienna and Prague (and possibly Durnstein via Bratislava) it would be paying a lot to not be there. So we were tentatively down to the 2 b&bs in Zlin. I contacted both to ask for availability from Aug 20 - Sept 9 and one came back booked through the last part of August. So all of our eggs are currently in the basket of one b&b. Thankfully, it is the b&b that I liked. I hope they have availability.

DH started researching the air travel. We might do Bermuda to London, then London to Brno and then drive to Zlin. The other option is to go from London to Vienna but the drive to Zlin would be longer - Prague would be the longest drive. I doubt we'd fly via the US to Frankfurt because of our not so happy honeymoon travel through that airport. Anyhow, we might overnight in London on our way back - see a show or something.

I also heard back from the dialysis clinic. Each treatment will be about $280 so my mom is thinking about coming out for the last 2 weeks. Looks like my dad will come too. They're going to get his British passport processed since he didn't do it when the rest of us did. They actually have never been to Vienna. They were suppose to go when they were last in Germany but never got there (I was maybe a year old at that point). They think that seeing Eastern Europe would be interesting - hence the possibility of going to Bratislava in Solvakia and Durnstein in Austria. Depending on timing, it might be worth planning a trip to Budapest as well. Sure, lord only knows if I'll be up for any of this but at this phase it is nice to daydream about a family trip.... my first with my parents since my junior year in college.

Other than that, I've been getting back into yoga in an attempt to regain my flexibility. I also need to try to run short distances daily - which is better than long distances occasionally. And I start the nutrition/fitness program on Thursday..... hope that helps my self-image.

Happy Mother's Day

In honour of this day we made a decision. We decided that we'll go to the clinic in Zlin. We finally sat down with all of the information we had collected. We could have gathered more but we also need time to plan. So we considered both clinics, the doctors, locations, sights, accomodations and dialysis center proxity ( for my mom). Zlin came out slightly ahead and we agreed to take the plunge. I emailed the clinic this morning - let the planning begin.

We're taking our moms to brunch today but I am skipping church. The do this thing where they ask all women over 18 to stand and give them flowers. When I was first married I thought it was cute but noticed how uncomfortable the single ladies and teens looked. You can only imagine how I felt last year... I didn't want to feel that was this year. I plan to do some yoga in a few minutes.

I need a stylist to help me dress. I carry weight in my abdomen and thanks to my posture (s-curve spine), fibroids and enlarged kidneys pushing organs heavens knows where, I have a little belly. I am sick of people asking if I am pg. I know they mean well and they do not know what I am going through. I usually tell them I'm fat and leave it at that. This week someone I had said this to months ago told me I needed to lose some weight. Excuse me! Anyhow, I really need to learn how to dress to conceal my pudge and, in the mean time I've signed up for a 6 week nutrition and fitness class.

Sometimes you need your mommy...

We told my mom what we're planning because she's the most level-headed person we know. She researches everything just like us and she knows how to be supportive. That's because she had a kidney transplant when I was 14 and had been foing through medical treatments for years. She is currently waiting for a kidney transplant (the other transplanted kidney lasted for 16 years which is great for a transplanted kidney) which makes it difficult for her to travel without scheduling dialysis treatment. With everything we're planning, she offered to look into dialysis treatment in the Czech Republic in order to be there for us. I never thought that words could be so calming....

I found a site for a company that organizes dialysis treatments at their clinics in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (I think they do other European countries as well). They have a coordinator who will deal with treatment, travel, hotels, etc (for people travelling around the country). I contacted them and they sent me the info for the clinics near Zlin and Olomouc and contacts for other clinics in both towns. Amazing customer service! I'm now waiting for pricing information but my mom is already thinking this will work well. She's thinking that she and my dad could come out for a week. Plus, they've never been to Prague and haven't been to Vienna since I was a baby. I don't know if I am more excited about her possibly bing there with me or her getting to have a proper vacation to a place she's never been before!

One Step Closer to a Clinic Decision

We need to decide whether to go to the clinic in Olomouc or Zlin. Both clinics have been really responsive and I've been following various people's experiences at both clinics on the IVFConnections boards. I like Zlin because it is 30 minutes away from where a friend of mine lives, I can possibly stay at a spa hotel that includes many treatments in the price (accupuncture is a little more) and the hotels in the town are used to dealing with overseas visitors coming for treatment. I am leaning towards Olomouc though because the doctor is so thorough (he's even been talking to my nephrologist) and we can go out there early which would then let us cut down the trip in Aug/Sept by a week. It's a tough choice.

We heard back from Zlin and they have developed the following for us (all approximate dates):

BC from July 30th - Aug 17

Aug 20 - arrive in Zlin

Aug 21 - begin injections

Aug 24 - exam

Aug 29 - exam

Sept 2 - retrieval

Sep 6 - transfer

Sept 9 - 13 - return home at some point during this tineframe.

We'd have to provide updated STD tests as well.

We have one possible plan - now we need the other and we can then decide what to do!

With the Urologist's Blessing

We finally got to see the urologist today. The SA was ok- count was up and motility was a bit better but still below normal. He still needs to be treated for his elevated prolactin level. In any case, we told the urologist about our decision to go to the Czech Republic and he thought it was a great idea. He gave us all of DH's records from the last year and we don't have to go back until September (primarily for the prolactin but if we're not successful in August we'll do a SA as well). We're now sending everything to the doctors and then need to set up consultations. I really want to make a clinic decision by next week.