Relieved

Oops, this has been sitting in my draft folder...all is fine. 

As you can probably tell from the title,  my doctor was not that concerned about the cyst.  I got so worked up about it and then she wasn't worried about it.  She said that this was an incidental finding, and since I started my period within 2 days of going off the pill, then I'm not going into menopause.  She also said if she were to scan a group of 100 women, there would be quite a few with cysts.  The only thing she wanted to do was have a repeat ultrasound in two months, in order to see if there is another one, or if this one has gotten bigger.  When I groaned about the idea of having to drink all that water, she said that wasn't an issue if I just had it done in her office.  So, I will gladly go to her office and get it done if that means I don't have to worry about peeing my pants! :) 

Worried

So, I last wrote about my period being MIA.  After several weeks with no period and two negative pregnancy tests, I finally went to the dr.  She agreed that it could be my hormones and ordered some bloodwork.  She also wanted me to have an ultrasound to check out my uterus and ovaries and make sure that things looked okay. 

Last week, they called me with the results that the bloodwork was normal.  And I was somewhat disappointed, because I was hoping they would find something that would explain why I feel lousy and my body is skipping periods.  I went to my ultrasound on Wednesday, and that sucked horribly.  I had to drink 32 oz of water in 15 minutes and not pee.  Umm, I have had two children and my bladder has taken some damage due to that!  I thought I was going to pee my pants on the drive to the hospital, and then I thought for certain I was going to pee in the chair in the waiting room, and I even warned the tech that I might pee on her!  Thankfully, she was quick and there was no accidents.  I mean, I even took a backpack with a change of clothes just in case!

However, the office just called me with the results of the ultrasound and they found a cyst on my ovary.  Now, I had one of those back in high school and I was out of school for 3 weeks when it ruptured  But this hasn't felt anything like that.  I was shocked when they told me that and that she wants me to see my gynecologist.  Amazingly, the office must have had a cancellation because she is able to see me tomorrow.  And I am so thankful for that.  You see, I made the mistake of consulting "dr google" if you will, and now I am worried.  Instead of thinking about the cyst like I had in high school, I am now wondering and worried if the cyst is malignant or benign.  Could I have ovarian cancer?  I am scared as to what the doctor will say tomorrow....

Late

Yep, I'm late for an important date.  And it's freaking me out a little.  My period was due last week and I barely spotted for a day.  That's it.  Not my normal.  However, it gets a little more complicated than that.  You are probably thinking that I'm preggers.  Normal assumption.  But my hubs had a vasectomy last year, plus I'm on the pill.  So, that baby would REALLY be special if I am pregnant.  I take meds for my migraines, so I got a little paranoid and took a pregnancy test just in case.  It was negative yesterday morning (shades of Christmas Eve 2007 when we found out I was pregnant with Kelly) but I still haven't started.

Now I'm googling "missed period but not pregnant" and I don't know what to do.  I wondered a few months ago if I was starting menopause b/c it felt like I was having hot flashes.  My dr referred me to my gynecologist and said it could be hormone issues.  I never went b/c the flashes stopped, but now I'm wondering if I am starting menopause.  I am only 35!!!!!!  But once again, due to the magic of the internet, it is apparently possible to go into early menopause at 35.  Oy.  I guess I am headed to the doctor soon.

Kind of an update and kind of disgusting

So, I went to the doctor on Monday.  She checked me out and stated that I was probably dehydrated, throwing my whole system out of whack.  She prescribed a medication to help with the nausea, and informed me that I needed to drink a lot of liquids that day--2 liters worth!!!!!!!  It was already almost 2 pm, so I couldn't imagine doing it.  Especially since I could only drink your standard liquids for a stomach bug--7-up, chicken broth, gatorade, jello.  All of which I hate.  :( 

Then she sent me over to the lab for bloodwork and then sent me home to collect, ahem, other samples.  That was disgusting.  I am still waiting for results--she said the bloodwork should be back in a day and the other samples would take a while, depending on what specific test.  I finally called on Friday afternoon, but the receptionist said the bloodwork results were in but she didn't know why the doctor hadn't done something, it wasn't clear to me, but obviously they weren't ready for me know.  Sorry for the massive run-on sentence.  Anyway, I hope to hear something Monday.

However, even just drinking liquids, my stomach was SOOOO upset.  And my head was killing me.  By Monday night, I was incredibly hungry and my stomach was not rumbly, it was making scary noises!  I called Tuesday morning and she said to stay on the liquids for another day.  Once again, I was ravenous, but oddly enough, my stomach wasn't making noises by that point.  By Tuesday night though, I wasn't really wanting to eat anymore.  I did think that I was going to pass out--I was so weak and out of it, that I literally stumbled to bed wondering if I was going to die!  Wednesday, I got to start the lovely BRAT diet--again,  I truly dislilke two of those things.  I ate 6 pieces of toast that day and actually choked down half a banana.  I hate bananas so much, my mom couldn't believe me when I told her I ate part of one! 

So, I am slowly trying to eat again and see what settles okay.  Things still aren't right, but they seem a little better.  I am still having my headaches, but she has me on two new meds for that--gabapentin and riboflavin of all things.  I am also trying to stay hydrated, so hopefully I never have to drink 2 liters of liquid in half of a day!  Blech!  We will see what happens next week!

Scared

So, it's been a long time, as usual.  I wish I had a good excuse, but I don't.  Just life--being busy with the girls and trying to keep them from driving me crazy this summer.

However, something is going on with me and I need to put it down on paper...err, just get it out of my head.  I have felt like crap for the last 8-9 days--horrible headaches and stomach pain/diarrhea.  Now, I am a sickly girl--always have been.  I have migraines, so the headaches didn't seem that unusual.  I also have irritable bowel (sorry if that's TMI), so the stomach thing wasn't surprising either.  But the length and severity of both, combined right now, are scaring me.  I've taken my meds for both and neither are working well. 

Needless to say, being this sick has made me a little depressed.  It's difficult to function--I was sick to my stomach while taking Kelly to school, and I can't be far away from a bathroom, so I can't run my errands.  Not to mention, my headache makes me dizzy and I don't trust myself to drive. 

But Friday morning, I started to wonder if there is some underlying problem--brain tumor?  Stomach cancer?  Are they both symptoms of something horrible?  As much as I didn't want to, I called and made an appointment for the doctor on Monday.  I'm hoping she will send me for an MRI or CAT scan so I can either know or rule out this scary possibility.

And going down this road, at least mentally, has me thinking about what I would miss with my girls and that, in turn, is making me emotional.  I have felt stuck in a rut the last few years, but still don't know what I want to be "when I grow up".  The idea that this is it, and I may not get a chance to see my kids grow up or ultimately make a difference in the world, is terrifying. 

We had a magical time!

So, summer has been busy around here.  About a week after Ally's school ended, we took the girls on their first trip to Disney World!  It had been a secret up until two weeks before, when I screwed up and said the word "Disney".  Mike and I had both said it before, but the girls never noticed.  Until that night when Ally figured out what we were talking about!  Mike and I had been to Epcot years before, but this was our first real trip.  It was also the girls' first flight and I was incredibly worried about how they would behave.  Not that they misbehave often, but when you take into account how early you have to get to the airport, and then add in the actual 2 hr flight, it is a long time to stay still.  We flew into Tampa, since it was cheaper (and we were planning to visit my family out there while we were down), but then we still had a 90 minute drive to Orlando. 

The girls actually did really well on the flight.  Mike sat into between them, and I was on the other side.  I hadn't flown in 9 years, and it bothered me much more than it had in the past.  I didn't even want to try to look out the window!  Neither of the girls were scared, thankfully they were more excited than anything.  When we landed, we drove out to Clearwater just to walk in the sand and play in the water a little.  Ally and Kelly had never been to the gulf coast area, or even to the Atlantic area. 

Playing in the water!

They preferred to play in the sand, burying my feet!

We stayed off-site, but it was maybe a 10-20 minute drive (at most) to the parks.
The first day we went to Magic Kingdom and told the girls there was a big surprise!

I had booked lunch for us at Cinderellla's Royal Table! We met Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Belle and Sleeping Beauty.  The girls were so excited!  We also bought special Rapunzel dresses for them to wear for the lunch. 

We wound up spending 3 days at Magic Kingdom, one day at Animal Kingdom and one day at Hollywood Studios.  I have to tell you, that the safari ride at AK was amazing!  One of the highlights of the entire trip, at least for me. 





It was imperative that we meet Rapunzel. 



This is at the Lego store in Downtown Disney.  They have all kinds of characters made out of legos--phenomenal. 

We had to meet the Mouse family, of course.

And, last but not least, we finally met Princess Tiana.  She was much more popular than I expected! 

However, it was 93-95 degrees almost every day and I sweated like I have never sweated in my life.  We usually only stayed for about 4-5 hours before we were all done for the day--hot, tired, hungry.  I don't think that I would take them again in the summer.  I would rather yank them out of school in March or November--and I don't normally advocate that.  But it was much too hot to truly be able to enjoy and appreciate the parks. 

And on our "off" day, we went to explore Downtown Disney.  Huge Disney store with all kinds of merchandise.  A huge Lego store (as referenced above) with Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs and other characters made out of legos.  Kelly was whining that her belly hurt, so we thought she was hungry.  We got in the car, she started to cough right after we pulled out of the parking spot.  I looked at Mike and yelled, "Is she going to puke??"  Mike stopped the car and yanked her out.  He barely set her down in the lot before she threw up.  Mortifying all around.  At least the kid learned somewhere how to avoid her clothes and most of her shoes.  I took her back in the bathroom to see if she was done and to try and clean her up.  By the end of the day, she was eating and playing and laughing.  I was hoping that it was a fluke thing, maybe because of the heat.  But unfortunately, the next two days we continued to hear about her belly.  To the point that she was hysterical and didn't want to meet any characters.  She just wanted to go home--less than 2 hours after we parked at Animal Kingdom.  The cast members were great, trying to cheer her up, but she was in pain  There isn't much you can do for a 3 year old with a tummy ache.  But both days she perked up and felt better and was able to enjoy herself.  Thankfully, she didn't get sick again and the flight home didn't bother her. 

Even with that, it was a great trip.  I have almost 400 pics--we had to stop and buy another Disney photo album before we left!   :)  Maybe I'll post some more later!