Monday, December 06, 2010

Only Half of Me Wants to be Normal

So an update about my appointment with my Doctor...

I felt almost like I had wasted my time going to see her, not because I didn't have lots of questions to ask her, but because she couldn't answer any of my questions. It went kinda like this:

Me: "I have low progesterone and no ovulation, so if I change my diet and maybe take herbal supplements, will that help increase my progesterone levels?"

Dr: "Well, you don't get hormones from the food you eat..."

Me: "This sort of problem runs in my family and my Aunt said to try A, B and C foods. What do you think of those?"

Dr: "Well, all of those things are really good for all parts of your body, and if your Aunt had the same problem, so maybe she would know."

I asked her about wild yams, about chasteberry, about soy and various other foods. I was hoping that as a very experienced gynecologist, she would know something more about wild yams than just that her husband bought some for her when she was having hot flashes! She knew nothing about using your diet to influence hormonal balance in your body. It was very frustrating. And since taking anything drug related is out of the question at least until I get back from Indonesia, she said, "Well, it doesn't hurt to try those things for the next few months and if you get pregnant, great! And if not, we can see you when you get back in March." She couldn't give me any warnings about taking herbal supplements, as in what not to take, how long to take, what not to take together, what sort of influence they would have on my moods, etc, etc, etc. So I'm left flying blind. (If you know of a good herbalist, let me know! I feel as if I could use one!)

I don't want this to become a "preoccupation" in my life or even a stress hazard. All I really want is... Well, I am not even sure. I want to know what God has for me. Is another baby in my future? Cause if it's not, I sure will be happy with my malfunctioning body. I love not having monthly mood swings, absent cycles, and the "happy norm" my body is in. Unless the lack of those things are not really healthy for my body, which is one question I forgot to ask my Dr. and one she didn't volunteer information for. I'd also love to know if mood swings often accompany the initial intake of herbal supplements such as chasteberry and wild yams, because I'd love to blame my volatile outbreaks on them.

To sum all of this ranting up, I need prayer. I need guidance. Half of me wants to be normal and half of me likes the way I am. Lord, what do you have for me?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor Beth, I know exactly what you're going through. I went to two GYN's and did TONS of research. And it finally came down to these results: If you want a healthy body you are going to have to regulate you cycles in order to regulate your cycles you are going to have to take bc or hormones...since we were trying to get prego at the time, bc was not an option. No matter what you try it's going to be trail and error because what works for you doesn't work for others...even when it comes to drugs. I'm praying for you the best way I know how, and if you need any advice or have questions please feel free to ask!

Anonymous said...

Medical school is woefully lacking in nutrition of any kind. You would be able to go to sites like Cleveland Clinic or Mayo Clinic and get some information there.

clw said...

Unfortunately, the one thing that has remained consistent in all these years is how much Dr's don't believe it anything God made ("well, go ahead and try it - it can't hurt you." but they don't believe it will help you either.) And how much they totally believe in drugs no matter how MANY side effects and dangers are connected with it.

PRAY. The Holy Spirit is your teacher, your guide, your comforter -- the rest of us can tell you our opinions, but honestly, what is the value of that compared to anything from the Holy Spirit. I will be praying for you, too.

Cindy

Martha said...

When I read the Bible, I find that many women in your shoes found the answer in prayer. That is not to say I think any of the other options are useless, only that prayer is an answer.

Praying for both you and Annie.

Kate said...

I do know that acupuncturists do know alot about herbs and junk. Quite knowledgeable.

Another thing I wanted to say. I heard this on the radio a couple of weeks ago. They were talking about infertility and women and the speaker mentioned that the women in the Bible who were having problems getting pregnant prayed fervently for their babies, and those who fervently sought after babies are some of the most famous men in the Bible. I can only think of two right now: Samuel and Issac - but they gave a whole list.

Saying that, I hope you don't think I'm implying that you're not praying fervently - I just wanted to encourage you to keep seeking.