FET Prep Week 9: A Tough Decision

Something’s got to give, and so I took a risk and made a decision to do something that most everyone told me not to do. Sometimes you have to do what you feel is right, even if it flies in the face of everything you have heard. I’m going to be talking about a subject that is pretty controversial, when to listen to your body and not your doctor. Before we get into it, if you are following your doctors advice and you just don’t feel right go seek a second opinion.

Catch-up on Previous FET Prep Posts

FET Prep Week 1: 3.5 months until FET

FET Prep Week 2: Supplements, WTF Email, & Increased AMH Level

FET Prep Week 3: You say Future Tripping, I say Future Planning

FET Prep Week 4: Bad News from SIS Test

FET Prep Week 5: Surgery, Depression & Trip to Nevada

FET Prep Week 6: Relax! You’re on Vacation.

FET Prep Week 7: Food Plan, Medical Debt, Post-op Follow-up, & Imagining Motherhood

FET Prep Week 8: Migraines & Some Good News

Countdown Until FET: 53 days (as of 3-2-2020)

So what was the big decision I had to make? I decided to stop taking every medicine and supplement for a short period of time until I could figure out which one may be causing my migraines. It is a big risk but I felt that I had to do it this way, like starting from scratch. I have the MTHFR gene mutation, which is another controversial subject in itself. But with the MTHFR gene mutation, we cannot process folate correctly and are more likely to have a buildup of toxins in our bodies. If our liver cannot process medication properly it wreaks havoc on our whole body. One way a person can be symptomatic with their MTHFR gene mutation is through recurrent miscarriages and migraines. This is where you picture a big blinking neon arrow pointing down at me.

I think it was a whole domino effect, with no single root cause but various things that have contributed to the crappy situation I found myself in these past few weeks with my migraines. I decided to stop my blood pressure medicine which pretty much every single internet page on the subject screams at you to never do. But after revisiting the side effects of my blood pressure medicine, it’s no wonder I’ve been feeling like garbage.

Some of the side effects of the blood pressure pill I was on. I had all of them except upset stomach.

My doctor told me if I don’t take my blood pressure medicine within a 1-2 hour window of when it’s prescribed, I’m basically asking for a rebound headache. And when you are experiencing pain in the body, such as headaches or migraine, it can elevate your blood pressure. Then I would have to take migraine medicine which I’ve been told not to take when trying to conceive. You see my predicament now?

It boils down to “You need this pill, but if you don’t take this pill on time you will probably need this second pill. You may need a second dose of the second pill if your first pill didn’t work. In the morning, if yesterday’s second dose of the second pill didn’t work for the issue of the first pill, just take the first pill again along with the second pill. And it’s totally okay if you take two of this third pill with the second pill. And if the third pill doesn’t work for the second day’s dose of the second pill that was supposed to help with the first days first pill, then yes you can take a second dose of the third pill. But don’t forget to take your first pill again at night after that.” That is essentially the conversation I had with my doctor, minus the brand names of the pills. And when I asked the question, “But what if my second pill doesn’t work at all anymore?” she had a completely dumbfounded look on her face and said, “That won’t happen. It’s the only medicine that will work to help with your headache. It’s the best one out there.” Now here I am three weeks later and was still having daily headaches. Hence my decision to say “f**k this s**t” and start from scratch.

Mind you my blood pressure isn’t at stroke levels, it’s just elevated. Honestly losing weight, eating better, and exercising more is probably all I need. I am going to slowly reintroduce my supplements, one at a time to see if that’s what is causing the headaches. I have a blood pressure monitor at home that I will be using to check it.

Mini Victories for the Week

Made the tough decision to take a break from medicine to see what may be causing migraines.

Replacing 1 meal per day with a protein shake.

Work in Progress

More exercise.

Monitor blood pressure levels.

Slowly start taking supplements again.

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Want to find out how fertile you are?

The Modern Fertility test is an affordable test that shows your hormone levels and gives you an overall picture of where you stand with your fertility. I recommend taking this test at least every 9-12 months to keep track of your hormone levels. What hormones will be tested? Depending on the type of birth control you are on they can test up to eight different hormone levels which may include:

AMH (Anti-mullerian hormone)

FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone)

E2 (Estradiol)

LH (Luteinizing hormone)

TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone)

FT4 (Free thyroxine)

PRL (Prolactin)

T (Testosterone)