My Ectopic Pregnancy

Hi, dear blog readers! I fully realize that I deserted my blog for a while...no good excuses, life just got in the way. I get overwhelmed easily, and this was just one more thing I "had" to do, so I needed a break.

I'm taking a break from the break to share some things going on with me and to talk about something new (new for me, that is) I'm trying for my headaches/migraines.

First, how cute is my little girl?! This is her at Christmas. She is such a blessing.

Hollis, 17 months

Second, and this is the bad news, I just had an ectopic pregnancy. My husband and I had been TTC (trying to conceive) baby #2 for eight or so months when it happened. My endometriosis caused it...apparently my only remaining fallopian tube (the other was removed when I had the ovarian cyst) is a hot mess. Thankfully, we caught it early.

Let me interrupt to say that I read the book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility, years ago and it has really helped me understand my body. Without that knowledge, I may not have even known I was pregnant and my fallopian tube could have ruptured. Let me also say that if you're TTC, Dollar Tree pregnancy tests are super accurate and the way to go...no need to spend tons of money on fancier ones.

I had bleeding from the start, so my husband and I never had the chance to get excited or get our hopes up. I thought it was miscarriage, but my doctor had me get blood tests done regularly just to be sure, and when my hcg levels went up a little, she had me come in right away for an ultrasound. If she hadn't been on top of things, my fallopian tube could have ruptured, which requires emergency surgery. I was given a shot of methotrexate which, surprise surprise, caused a massive migraine (plus cramping and exhaustion, but then again it did save my tube, and possibly my life). I have a follow-up appointment next week to talk about next steps.

Sweet baby feet

I bought this charm from Etsy to honor my baby. The footprints are the size of a 10-week fetus (my baby was around 5-6 weeks...I think 10 weeks is when the toes form). I believe that life starts at conception, so this was my way of honoring the sweet baby who is now in heaven with his or her paw-paw (my husband's dad), who passed away a few days before I got the positive pregnancy test. January was a tough month, to say the least.

Third update: Since I can't try to get pregnant again for another three months (or maybe more, if I can even try again...we'll see what the doctor says), I decided it's the perfect time to try something new for my headaches that I otherwise wouldn't be able to try! Turning a negative into a positive. :) A friend from church recommended Migrelief...she said it hasn't gotten rid of her migraines, but it has reduced the frequency and the pain level. There are two kinds, but it the ingredients are similar. She uses this one (MigreLief), but I bought this one by mistake, but I'm going to switch over to the brand she uses once I finish this bottle. (Side note: I just saw that Vitamin Shoppe's current web special could have saved me $11.00...excuse me for a moment while I go punch something). The kind my friend uses has a refund program if it doesn't work, but you have to buy three bottles and then send two back. I've tried magnesium and feverfew separately, but not together. I don't think I've tried riboflavin, the other ingredient.

Oh, and I can finally take Aleve again (it was a no-no for pregnancy and breastfeeding) for my headaches, woohoo! :) As for the migraines, I've been taking Fioricet as needed (even during pregnancy/breastfeeding) and am pretty happy with it as long as I limit how much I take.

I'll update again after I give the Migrelief/MigreLief a good try (at least three months, unless I have bad side effects). Peace and love to you!