Lab work Results

I feel so inadequate writing this post because I really don't fully understand the labwork results.  Anyone who thinks that chiropractors are quacks should meet with Dr. Jared Nielsen.  He is the smartest physician I've ever met and explained things we've been wondering for the past 5 years but no one has either known how to answer or run the correct tests to answer.  We are so lucky that he hired Dustin.  Of course smart people hire other smart people so... of course he would hire Dustin. :)
The results of my bloodwork showed some pretty serious things.  I might be saying them all wrong, but here's what we understand:
1. I have Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism.  We already knew I have hypothyroidism, but Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid antibodies (which had never been tested in me before).  The thyroid antibodies attack my thyroid, which is why it doesn't work right. 
2. My liver isn't doing it's job very well.  It's not filtering the toxins or something like that... which it makes me insulin resistant.  Which leads to...
3. I am hypoglycemic.  My body does not process insulin correctly.  I have too much insulin but my body doesn't respond to it and process it to get rid of the sugars.  Instead it just pumps out more insulin and stores the sugar.  So even if I were to live on a teeny tiny calorie diet, I would still gain weight.  It causes me to crave sugar because my body thinks it's low. Because it is low...
4. I am microcytic anemic.  Which means I'm not anemic because I have plenty of red blood cells, but they are very small in size.  Because of this they don't absorb iron or oxygen.  I have poor oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange which causes me to fatigue quickly with exertion. 
5. These things together cause me to be estrogen dominant.  In a normal cycle, there are 4 waves of hormones releases.  It starts with FSH in the beginning which signals the ovaries to start growing a mature egg.  Then estrogen rises before the LH surge which triggers the release of the mature egg.  After this, progesterone takes over to keep the uterus from shedding it's lining.  If the egg is fertilized, it will burrow it's way into the lining, releasing HCG and the corpus luteum will keep pumping out the progesterone until the placenta can take over.  If this doesn't happen, the corpus luteum dies and you get your period.  In my case, instead of having an LH surge, my hypothyroidism also produces an increase in prolactin which inhibits the surge and progesterone, and I don't ovulate.  But somehow I still have a monthly period so really, that's not fair. 
6. My body is in constant stress due to high cortisol levels from my Reverse T3 Serum that is high.  This explains why I get anxiety and overwhelmed at times. 

The good news is that all of these are treatable.  There are some supplements Dr. Nielsen would like me to be on to help treat my liver, which we think might be the main cause of insulin resistance and would help everything else out.  But since I am currently mid cycle on a round of clomid, he would like to wait until after we find out if this cycle is successful or not.
We are currently waiting on a blinking smiley face OPK which indicates  my estrogen rise and we are hoping to get that solid smiley face in the next few days to show that the clomid worked and I am ovulating this cycle.

In the mean time, I have started on some other supplements.
Nattokinase is to help with an antibody that is hanging out in my body from previous pregnancies.  This can cause scar tissue to build on my uterus, preventing a placenta to be able to attach. 
AdrenaCalm is a gentle, soothing cream with herbs and nutrients to support stress response through adrenal management.  It should help with my high cortisol levels and calm me down. 
Chaste Tree/Vitex is to help regulate my cycle and help with ovulation.
Inositol is used for treating conditions associated with PCOS including failure to ovulate, and high triglycerides.
X-Viromin is to increase the performance of white blood cells which will help with my autoimmune disorder.  Also, my blood worked showed I have systemic inflammation and this will help with that.
Glutathione is an antioxidant shot I'll get once a week for 6 weeks to help my liver and systemic inflammation.
Vitamin D, Fish Oil, and Glutathione are things I'll need to take for the rest of my life with Hashimoto's.
And of course, a daily prenatal.

The other big part of this solution is diet.  And guess what is recommended?  No sugar or caffeine, and eating lots of veggies, fruit, and meats.  Basically Whole30.  So at least we are happy with that and have seen the benefits from living a Whole30 life.  We were going to wait until after the holidays to get back onto a hard core Whole30 routine, but i guess this means we'll be starting back on it sooner than later.  I also need to eat breakfast every morning and should not be fasting due to the hypoglycemia.  It causes my body to stress, shake, and get really fatigued.  So, sorry first Sunday of the month... Doctor's orders. 

If the clomid doesn't take this month and we don't get pregnant, we will hold off on doing another round for a few months while we get my liver in check and everything else in check too so that I can be the healthiest me for a successful pregnancy.  Hopefully it doesn't take too long. :)

Back on the Meds

It's now been 5 years of infertility.  It's been 2 whole years since we went to the specialist (that I hated) in Portland.  Almost 2 years since my last miscarriage.  The last thing we did for my infertility was over a year ago when I did an HSG (the dye test) which once again revealed that everything looked just fine.   My infertility is unexplained.  All my tests come back normal.  But still, we just can't get a baby in me. 
Before I left Portland I had a visit with my lady doctor and he asked if we wanted to get started back on Clomid.  I said sure, knowing that I wouldn't start on it until after the move, but we were able to stock up on 6 months worth while on my previous insurance. 

In October I started back on Clomid and while my BBTs looked great and showed a definite pattern of ovulation, no baby for us.  We'll see how this month goes, but so far I'm not crossing my fingers.  I have added OPKs to this cycle too so we're doing all we can to optimize our chances!
The sad thing about getting back on Clomid is that this just means that I should be ovulating much better.  This puts us back in the range of "normal" couples which gives us still only a 20% chance of conception.  We've had luck getting pregnant with Clomid before, but we still have to figure out why they don't stick.  I'm pretty sure that the second I find out I'm pregnant I will call up my old doc here in Utah and ask to be put on progesterone and start on baby Aspirin.  Anything to help it work. 
We are also trying out a few other things to help with the process.  First, we are working on implementing Whole30 ALL the time.  Or at least most of the time.  We feel so much better when we eat clean and the food you eat can really affect your hormones.  With starting a new job, I have done a crappy job of making every meal Whole30.  We usually get one or two compliant meals a day, but definitely not completely clean.  The Whole9 group has recommended NOT doing a Whole30 during the holidays so I think we'll pick it back up hard core at the beginning of the year.  Life was so much easier to exercise and eat healthy when that's all I had to do all day!

I'm also trying out essential oils.  I do not think they can cure my infertility, but I think that they can at least help with my moods while on Clomid.  Clomid makes a lady CrAzY and I have found that these few cycles back on the meds I have been a little less crazy.  I really think that the essential oils have helped with that.  There are a few others I am going to try that help with ovulation and hormones so fingers crossed that I can become one of those essential oil loving people.  For now I'm still figuring out if I like them or not.

I did some blood work last week (ok, a LOT of bloodwork) for Dr. Nielsen, the chiropractor that Dustin works for.  He's done a lot of work with couples to help them achieve pregnancies that last so I am excited to see what he says when we meet with him this week and to get a plan going.  Dr. Nielsen does a lot of natural supplements so we'll see what he recommends. 

Hopefully we can get a baby in me that will STAY in me (for the regular nine months of course) and I can have a little one by the time I hit 30.  I know I shouldn't put a timeline on things, but I feel like I'm getting so old and just want to be able to start my family.  So many of my friends are done having kids and it seems so weird since we haven't even started yet.
Of course, moving to a new ward I get a lot of the "do you have any kids?" questions.  And when I say no it's followed by "and how long have you been married?"  Does it really matter how long we've been married?  Or are they just trying to find something in common with me when kids aren't in the picture?  The last time someone asked I just told them we were infertile.  Then they felt sorry for me.  So I don't know how to best answer the question but I think it's just easier to tell people and get the awkwardness out of the way. 
I feel like it's getting really close to the right timing for us to have a baby, but it's hard to say when it will really happen.  If nothing takes on these 6 months of Clomid, we'll probably go to a specialist in the spring.  We might have to do more IUIs, and maybe even IVF.  I just hate the thought of putting so much money into IVF and then have it miscarry.  With unexplained infertility we really don't know what the problem is so we are just trying out all angles possible.  We've fasted and prayed about adoption and it hasn't felt right.  As always, prays are welcome our way.  Maybe soon we can post that we are expecting a little miracle.

Farewell to Portland

We enjoyed our last few weeks in Portland and tried to do everything we could to soak it all in.  My parents flew out September 18th to help us drive back the 2 cars.  Thursday the 18th we enjoyed visiting our favorite Portland sites- Gateway Breakfast house, the temple, food trucks, Powell's Books, and Voodoo Doughnuts.

 

 

 

 We had dinner at Noho's, ending our Portland experience where it started 3 years ago.
That night we drove out to Hood River and spent the night at the Hood River Hotel.  I'm not a fan of old buildings, but it was a fun adventure and the breakfast was delish. 

 

The drive around the Hood River Fruit Loop was beautiful and I'm glad we were able to stop by our favorite farms one last time.

 

 

 

 

 Another pit stop night in Boise and we were back home to Utah!
It's great to be back with family and Salem is so beautiful. 

We miss Portland and still think about all our friends all the time but Utah is home.

Seriously So Blessed

Does anyone remember that satire mommy blog "Seriously so blessed" by "TAMN"?  It was a funny Mormon stereotype blog about how she was seriously so blessed.  That's what I think of every time I say or hear "seriously so blessed" but for reals-- I feel seriously so blessed.

Isn't Heber gorgeous?!

We have made it to Utah and it was hard to say goodbye to Portland (breaking up is hard to do), but we are really excited about this next chapter.  Right now it still feels like we are on vacation.  We've been here just a little over a week and all last week was filled with getting Spencer off on his mission and then getting Nicole married.
Dustin has been in to the office a few days this week but we are waiting on the state to get his license finalized so he can start working.  The update today was that they have everything so it will just be another 7-10 days.  We just wanna be working already!  We really are super blessed to have this job.  I know that it's been a lot of fasting and prayer for us (since March really), with combined efforts of our family and friends we asked to fast with us in August, and it's the perfect job for Dustin.  He will be working with Dr. Jared Nielsen at the Nielsen Clinic in Heber City Utah and is so excited to start working.  Dr. Nielsen is pretty incredible and Dustin knows he will learn a lot.  We have a three year contract and it feels great to have our next three years outlined with a salary coming in.  No more school!! Heber City is beautiful and though I'm nervous about snow (I hate it.), I'm really happy Dustin got the job that he really wanted.  Seriously so blessed.
We found a cute little basement apartment in Heber City and we can move in October 13th so in the mean time we are chillin in my parent's basement.  I really really really wanted a townhouse with a garage (because SNOW), but this basement apartment will be good for the next 6 months to a year.  All the townhouses had no availability and were at the high end of our budget.  This basement apartment is below our budgeted amount so we will be able to SAVE and hopefully get into our own house in the next year.  Which would be AWESOME.  It will be a good space for us, has 2 bedrooms, includes a washer/dryer, and the rent price includes utilities.  So, um, like I said, awesome. I think it's the right place for us for now.  Seriously so blessed.
Being under budget also means that there is no rush for me to get a job. I can get one when the right one comes, but don't have to stress about rushing to find a job so we have enough income to pay our bills.  I don't know if I'm ready to start working again and part time sounds much better than full time, but wouldn't include benefits, so there's a lot to consider.  We also want to start on fertility meds (clomid) again soon.  Like real soon.  I may or may not have a 6 month stash to get started on so might as well take it easy, rest up, Whole30 up, and fertility drug it up,  right? At least for a little while.  We'll see....
I feel like we're really lucky and that everything is coming together. Just 2 months ago I was wondering how the heck we would survive after graduation, especially if we were opening up our own practice.  I was stressing about what we would do for an income and where we would live and how we'd be able to start on fertility meds if we were so broke and poor.  It is all working out and the pieces are coming together.  I'm excited to see what the next few months bring with all these changes.  We really are seriously so blessed.

The future has arrived

I've always tended to be one that lives in the future.  My thinking and planning has been, "When I go to college, when I get married, when we have a baby, when we finish school, etc."
The future has arrived. Not on the baby part (don't get excited), but we are done with school.  That has been the biggest "living in the future" for me.  When we're done with school and have a job then we can do this or that or life will be wonderful.
Dustin had his final check out of clinic and school today. He is officially DONE.  Monday he will take Utah State boards and Tuesday he will start a new job.  We are so blessed and so grateful that he got this job.  He really really really wanted it and we are really really really excited about it.
So now we're here in the future- done with school and landed a dream job.  And I don't know what to think.  I don't want to live in the future anymore, I am enjoying the present and soaking up these last few moments in Oregon.  I cried today as we were driving and talking about all the good memories we've made.  Life has been wonderful in the present.  This has been such a big part of our lives and it's emotional to close this chapter.
The next chapter is a new and exciting adventure and I am looking forward to what the future holds.  But I'm so ready to live in the present and enjoy each and every day.
I don't know what I'll be doing once we're settled- if I'll be getting a job or enjoying some time at home. 
I guess we'll see what the next few days bring.
For now, we are enjoying the moment. 

Packing

I hate packing.  I really do.  Having to cram my whole life into boxes is the worst.  We are excited for this next stage of life- no more school, no more student loans (just paying them off for the next forever), just being adults with real jobs, and hopefully real kids and real houses somewhere in the next few years.
We are anxiously waiting to hear back about a few jobs Dustin interviewed for in Utah last week.  There's one that Dustin really really really wants so I'm really really really hoping that he gets it.  Send good vibes/prayers/juju to us pretty please? 

As I'm packing I feel like there are so many things left to do in Oregon and I am sad to go.  This will always be our second home, a place that we will always love and hope to come back and visit often.
Here are just a few things I am really going to miss about Oregon:
No sales tax
Trees EVERYWHERE
Waterfalls
Someone else pumping your gas for you
Being close to the beach, the mountains, the desert, all within a 2 hour drive
All our friends we have made here
Being so close to the Art and Sheri Gaileys and the Brent and Holly Creers
Farmers markets every weekend in the summer
Cinetopia
Rain (I still don't think it rained enough while we were here!)
No judgements from anyone


We have been working on our bucket list but we are definitely not going to be able to finish it. Just means we need to plan a trip back next summer so please keep in touch all you Oregon peeps! We want to see you again!
We are really excited to be so close to both our immediate families and being there for more family functions. 
Looking back to when we moved here 3 years ago, I feel like we were so young and now we are so old.  We've grown a lot in these past few years.  When we moved here we had recently gone through fertility treatments that ended in miscarriages.  It was hard for me to talk about my infertility without getting super emotional.  I have become a lot more comfortable with myself and my struggles.  I love that no one here questioned the fact that we have no kids. I found so much support from others in my ward who struggled with infertility.  I have some worries about going to Utah and knowing that we will be the odd childless ducks. I'm hoping that when we get these questions (because I know they're coming) I can answer with love and tact. 
And now I need to go do some more packing...

Welcome home Sister Jack!

Dustin and I spent a whirlwind weekend in July with our families.  We originally planned for just me to fly in for Ginelle's homecoming, but then decided a few weeks before that Dustin should come too.  And I'm so glad that he did! I'm also super glad that we booked our tickets on Southwest so we could sit together! Southwest for the win.
Dustin and I flew in to Salt Lake City on Friday July 11th just 20 minutes before Sister Ginelle Jack's flight was scheduled to land.

We got off our flight, checked an board for arrivals and saw that her plan had landed!  We rushed over to the Delta section of SLC and called my mom to make sure it was ok that we see Ginelle first, right as she got off her flight. My mom said she would be jealous but that she knew Ginelle would love to see us there.
We waited patiently as everyone got off the flight and there was no Ginelle yet. I was getting worried that I had looked at the wrong flight so I asked a passenger who had just gotten off and she said it was correct. Finally, Sister Jack walked out of the jetway and I ran up to her and gave her a hug. She was so surprised and so happy to see us! It was awesome to be able to spend a few minutes with her before everyone else.

We planned how she would make her entrance- Dustin and I would be standing in front hiding her, we'd count to three and then lean to the side so she could pop out the middle! Our family saw Dustin and I coming down the escalators and looked so disappointed. Then she popped out and they all cheered (scaring poor baby Audrey). But because it was a surprise, no one really caught it on camera.  Haha.

 

 We left the airport and gathered at The Cheesecake Factory for Ginelle's welcome home meal.  We loved having Elliott sit next to us.  Look at the adorable bread and banana plate they give kids!

 

 

Unfortunately, Elliott was not entertained for long.

 

 It was so fun being there with so much family and sharing meals, sharing cheesecakes, and being loud and crazy together.  I miss being with family so so much!

Friday night Ginelle was released as a missionary and we spent the evening catching her up on all the YouTube videos she missed while she was away.
Saturday morning I worked on finishing the Dino quilt for Dallin and Becky's baby.  I hadn't done binding in a while and I am not used to my mom's machine so it was harder than it should have been.  But I finished it and I think it turned out adorable!

 We missed the Blendfresh launch party at Thanksgiving Point that morning (and our chance to win a Blendtec), but it was good to be able to finish the quilt and help prep for the couples baby shower that afternoon. We had fun games and prizes and enjoyed getting ready for baby Rex (not his real name, just what I called him).

I like how my dino themed presents for baby turned out and I think they really liked them!

 

 Saturday night we spent with the Creers enjoying Texas Roadhouse and hanging out together. It's always a good time at the Creers!
Sunday was Ginelle's mission homecoming talk and we enjoyed visiting Salem 4th ward.  That afternoon I started to feel sick so I took a long long nap.  Like 3 hours I think.  When I woke up it was time for Frozen with the family followed by old family movies.  Nathan, Dustin, and I stayed up way to late trying to find an old home movie we made but we found it!  It was fun to see the endless dance parties we had growing up and how Evan was completely adored as a baby.

 

 Monday morning I woke up still feeling sick, but worse because I was nauseous.  We had an early morning temple trip scheduled for Spencer to receive his endowment because he has his mission call and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it.  I got ready and asked Nathan and Dustin for a blessing.  We were a little late to the temple but made it in time for the session and I am so glad I was there! I love being in the Celestial Room with my family.  And Spencer was so happy.

 

 

 I was feeling a little better so we all went to IHOP for breakfast, but then I started feeling sick again so we rushed home.
Monday afternoon Dustin had an appointment to shadow a chiropractor up in West Jordan who is hiring.  We packed up our stuff and headed up with my mom, Ginelle, Becky, and Reimi. Dustin was dropped off at the office and then the girls had a lovely afternoon of shopping and Cold Stone.  We picked up Dustin a few hours later and headed to the airport for our flight home. I was afraid that I'd have another barfing on the plane experience like when we came home for Dallin's wedding, but I was feeling much better and there was no barfing.  :)
Right after we checked our bags in for our flight, we got the text that our flight was delayed by an hour.  It would have been nice if they could have sent that 20 mins earlier! We hung out at the airport and talked about how Dustin's shadowing went.  The doctor is definitely hiring (which is a definite plus!) but his philosophy of practice is a lot different than Dustin's, which means he wouldn't be a good fit for us and we won't be a good fit for him.  So we're still looking.
One thing we learned from this trip is that Utah is DEFINITELY where we want to be and feel like we should be.  We are still unclear on the details, but we are excited to be going back home.
It was a fast and furious weekend but I'm so glad we went! Even if it meant coming back to mounds of work.

Breaking up with Portland

Fun fact (you should let other people tell you they're fun- Pitch Perfect): This is the longest we've ever lived anywhere in our married lives. It's true.  We love Oregon and we love the friendships we have made out here.  It will always be our 2nd home and we plan on coming back to visit often. But...
It's official.  We're breaking up with Portland.  We handed in our 30 day notice at our apartment complex yesterday and will be packing up a moving truck and driving it to Utah Labor Day weekend.
While trying to come up with a plan for when we wanted to move and where we wanted to move to, we've tried to go through a couple scenarios. It's been a debate between Labor Day weekend and mid September.  We had made up our minds to move September 18th when my parents could fly out and help us load up.  But then our apartment decided to raise rent (yet again) exponentially higher starting September 1st so we knew it was time to move before then.
We still don't know what we're going to do in Utah.  Dustin has been applying for jobs and working with a friend on a business plan to start our own, but we are not positive which direction we are going to take.  I'm sure I can get a job once we get there, but it makes a difference if we're going to be in South Salt Lake County as an associate vs. Utah county with our own practice, so I'm holding off applying anywhere until we can finalize that decision.
Which means we have no idea what we're doing.  All we know is that we definitely want to be in Utah and feel like that's where we are supposed to be.  We are moving in faith and hoping that our little savings will get us through until we figure it out.
Thank goodness for parents.  And family.  We still have a few things to finish up the first couple weeks in September so we will be staying with my aunt and uncle in Battle Ground (cousin sleepover EVERY NIGHT Connor!)  Our stuff will go into storage in Utah until we figure out where we are going. And once we're in Utah, we'll stay at my parent's house until one of us gets a job.
I'm hoping this next month we'll have some firm decisions made and can move forward with life.  It's kind of a scary move going into the unknown, but I know that this is where we are supposed to be.
It will all work out, right?

DC Graduation and Creer visit

Hello there. It's been a while.  But you  know the drill by now, where I take long hiatuses of blogging.  I took a month off for daily blog posts during our Whole30 experience and now I'm back.  Kinda.  We'll see how long it lasts.

Dustin's graduation from the University of Western States receiving his doctorate of chiropractic and masters of sports and exercise science was June 20th.  It was exciting to celebrate graduation and we enjoyed having some family visit for the special occasion.  My grandparents and Dustin's family both came to help party. 

Graduation was at 11:00, then we took a whole lot of pictures and had lunch at Jake's Famous Crawfish with the whole gang (Creers, Gailey grandparents, and Art and Sheri and Jake Gailey).

 

 

 

 After lunch we went to the Portland temple to show the Creers around.  There were a ton of weddings that day and we tried to get Jared to sneak into a red headed family's group picture (he would have fit in perfectly!) but he didn't want to photo bomb them.  It would have made for some hilarious conversation for them.  The rest of the evening we just relaxed playing Mario Kart and taking a nap.

Saturday we went out to Seaside and Cannon Beach.  It was a perfect beach day! Apparently everyone else thought so too because it was sooo busy.  And Cannon Beach had a sandcastle event going on so what should have taken 10 minutes to get from Seaside to Cannon Beach took 2 HOURS.  It was insane. 

 

 

 

 

We met the Brent and Holly Creer gang at Mo's in Cannon Beach and then walked the long stretch of beach to see what all this sandcastle fuss was about.  And it was kind of lame.  But we got some great exercise walking that beach! 

 

 

 

Sunday we got to enjoy Dustin in the special musical number during sacrament meeting before heading up to Roy Washington for a BBQ and softball game.  And by BBQ I mean Brent grilled some amazing steak and halibut.  It was so good! 

 

 

 Monday was a day in Seattle taking a ferry from Bremerton to downtown and exploring the waterfront and Pike's Place.  And then AMAZING seats at the Mariner's vs Red Sox game. 

 

 

Tuesday we drove back down to Portland, dropped Nicole off at the airport, and then fell alseep.  Because we partied so hard.

Wednesday I had to go back to work but Dustin and his dad went on a guided fishing tour on the Willamette.  It was kind of a bummer because only ONE fish was caught by anybody on the boat. Dustin was the one to reel it in, but it was on the guide's fishing line so he got to keep it (lame). We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Claim Jumpers that night with "Thor" as our waiter. 

Thursday we had to say goodbye to the Creers as they headed down the coast and through scenic California on their way home. 

It was so much fun to have them here to visit!
And wahoo for graduation! One last quarter (that we now are 4 weeks through, only 6 weeks to go!)
So proud of my doctor and the all the work he's done to get through school!