1) Reading retreat
My reading retreat last weekend was so lovely! I did not make my goal of reading 15 hours over the course of the two-and-a-half days, but I logged 11.5 reading hours and I’m very happy with that number! I finished the audiobook I was reading, sped through the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series, nearly finished a romance novel, and logged around 150 pages of Home of the American Circus by Allison Larkin! I would consider that a successful reading weekend. If I can manage something like that once a quarter, perhaps, then I would be one happy bookworm!
2) Chip and Lucy time
I was on Chip and Lucy duty this weekend, which is my favorite kind of duty! We had lots of snuggle sessions on the couch, a ton of kissing, some games of fetch, and less time outside than I thought. It was just so hot and humid that I couldn’t stand to be outside for longer than a few minutes. I couldn’t go into the pool (for reasons I’ll talk about in the next point!), which is the only place I want to be when I’m outside in the summer. So we spent a lot more time inside than I thought! I also left once a day to check in on the girls, and I had a lot of explaining each time I came home smelling like a pair of dogs. Oops!
3) Medical news of the week
This week, I got bloodwork done to test for Celiac disease and food allergies. All of the food allergy testing came back negative, which wasn’t surprising. I’m still waiting on the Celiac panel.
I also saw my gynecologist for a follow-up about my ultrasound. As expected, I do have fibroids (as well as a very small ovarian cyst) and it’s actually the smaller one that is causing my period symptoms. The other, bigger fibroid is in an area that doesn’t cause symptoms.
It seems like the best scenario for me is an endometrial ablation. If I do that, I won’t be able to get pregnant. While I am fairly certain I don’t want children, I am having a lot of feelings about having that option completely taken away from me. I’m not sure I’m ready to go there just yet.
My gynecologist did not make me feel all that comfortable about getting an IUD, either. She cautioned me that a) it will take 6-8 months to start seeing a difference and b) I may become one of the unlucky people (around 30%) who still have heavy periods afterward. Honestly, I did not love the way she vilified IUDs, but I guess since I’m coming at an angle of helping with period symptoms and not preventing pregnancy, she wanted me to be aware of the potential downsides.
My other option is hormonal birth control, which has helped eliminate my periods in the past. This was before I had fibroids, though, so I’m not sure if it will be as effective, but it’s worth a shot, I think. Otherwise, there’s not much I can do unless I want to get an ablation.
In other fun news, I had my skin check on Friday and had to get a mole removed. I thought it was just a skin tag, but my dermatologist was concerned and sent it out for testing. Thankfully, it came back as just a fibroma (basically, a benign tumor) and all is well there! (But that’s why I couldn’t go into the pool. While I didn’t have to get stitches, it was an open wound on the back of my leg and I didn’t feel comfortable being in chlorinated water!)
Next week, I have my abdominal ultrasound as well as a routine dental cleaning (somehow I scheduled them for the same day, sigh). I can’t eat for four hours before the ultrasound, so I scheduled it for 10 a.m., which was the earliest appointment available. My dentist appointment is at 7 a.m., which means I will need to get up extra early to have breakfast so I’m not a hypoglycemic mess during the ultrasound. Fun times!
4) A coloring callus
This is embarrassing to admit, but I have somehow developed a callus on my right pointer finger from all of the coloring I’ve been doing. The callus is right where the marker sits on my ring finger (and where my other two fingers push down on the marker to keep my grip steady). It’s ridiculous. I didn’t get a callus from something cool like learning to play the guitar. I got it from coloring! I told myself I should take a break from coloring to let the callus heal, but I have not. I have a PROBLEM.
5) Weekend plans
My weekend should be a good one! My only plans are game night tomorrow night with the fam and a movie date on Sunday evening with two friends. It’s the 30th anniversary of Clueless (omg) and there’s a showing at our local movie theater! Afterward, we’re going to get dinner and discuss details to organize a book crawl, a la this Instagram Reel. Woop!
I always end up with a slew of medical appointments in a row– I thin because I am bad at advance scheduling. Can you drink clear Ensure? That’s what my mom’s bf has to do in fasting situations…
I wasn’t able to eat or drink anything 6 hours before my procedure – not even water! It was brutal!
I have an opinion on the medical stuff! It sounds like taking the pill might get you immediate relief from the pain. If you go on it then it’s just a few weeks at most to see if it helps with your period pain. I don’t like the idea of getting the IUD and waiting around for 6-8 months to see if it helps. That’s too long for an “if”. The ablation is a big decision, so of course you need some time to think about it. If you could get rid of the pain in the meantime with the pill, that’s all the better for the decision process.
I know you’re in the middle of a big to-do list with your health, but you are getting sh*t done! So bravo!
Thank you, Birchie! I think going back on the pill is the right decision for now. If it doesn’t help and I need to do an ablation, at least I have some more time to think about it. I’ve been so happily child-free that it’s been a wild time to suddenly be faced with this decision and have complicated feelings!
Just a vote of confidence for going on pill to control periods and fibroids! I have 4 fibroids& being on the pill is the only thing that has kept heavy periods at bay. I was on IUD after my son was born& my periods and cramping were worse than they were when I was a teenager. I’ve been back on the pill almost 5 years& some
Months my period is only like 3 days& not heavy at all. You’re younger than me but being on hormonal birth control can even control some perimenopause symptoms too.
That is great to hear! Thank you for letting me know your experience. I am hoping I’ll have the same good luck going back on the pill. <3
Your reading retreat/doggy weekend sounds so fun!
Once again, I am impressed that you are being so proactive about your health, even when it means multiple medical appointments! As anecdotal evidence, I take hormonal birth control pills (LoLoEstrin) and haven’t had a period in probably a decade. I LOVE IT. They also help even out my emotional/mental health during the end of my cycle. I used to have very heavy periods, although I don’t think I have fibroids so it was a huge relief to find a specific birth control that prevents them entirely. (My gyn was surprised that I have NO period; I think most people still get a light period.)
I think I might have been on that same birth control pill and it eliminated my periods entirely, too! I hope it’ll do the same again, even with having fibroids. Fingers crossed!
What cute pics with the pups!! I am sure they loved having you there! Man, the I’m issues with your health sure are annoying. On one hand, good you figured it out, but on the other it seems like the choices aren’t great. If you went on the pill would the effect be noticable quicker than for the IUD? Also, poop re having two appointments in one day and the first one is at seven!! Too bad they are not swapped around! I always seem to have dentist appointments right after lunch and despite brushing I am sure they have found some fun stuff in there! Luckily your dentist probably won’t care if you just ate.
I think I would be able to tell a difference more immediately by going back on the pill than I would if I got an IUD. So if I go on the pill and I don’t notice a difference after a few months, then it might be time to consider an ablation. But at least that gives me some time to make a decision AND hopefully helps reduce my period pain/bleeding a bit.
I used to have extremely heavy periods. For decades, it dominated a week out of every month. I tried so many things, but did not respond well to any birth control. The pill(s) (I tried 4-5 different combinations) was horrible and the IUD (for me) was even worse. I spotted constantly, had horrible mood swings. Ugh. It was the worst. The Nuvaring was the best thing I tried but even that wasn’t great.
I was scheduled to have a hysterectomy, testing positive for COVID while waiting to go into the operating room, and ended up having to delay surgery. My OB-GYN was on mat leave and her replacement suggested I rethink having an ablation. That’s the route I took and I have ZERO regrets. But, I was very much done with having kiddos. One downside to an ablation is that it only lasts for a limited amount of time. I’m hopeful it will get me to menopause?!
It’s exhausting to deal with menstrual complications. I hope you feel confident in whatever decision you reach and have a wonderfully supportive medical team alongside you every step of the way.
I immediately thought of you when my gyn mentioned ablation! If I do decide to go that route, I will definitely reach out to you. I just had MANY FEELINGS about suddenly not being able to get pregnant at all, even though I don’t *think* I want kids. The emotions threw me for a loop!
Oh gosh, you’ve had a lot of medical stuff happening at the same time, and you’re such a rock star about it! And guess what – YOU inspired me to get a sleep study done – and I have severe sleep apnea! I really didn’t think I did, but I haven’t slept well in so long. Thank you for writing about your experiences with it. My CPAP machine is on order.
My heart goes out to you, having to make tough decisions about the fibroids. I was 49, and definitely didn’t want to get pregnant at that age, so my decision was much easier. I went with a hysterectomy and never regretted it.
I’d say your reading weekend was very successful! I hope you’ll write a review of Allison Larkin’s book. She’s a writer AND one of my favorite audiobook narrators.
Chip and Lucy duty sounds like fun!!
OMG, Michelle! You helped me discover I had fibroids and I helped you discover you had sleep apnea. We are amazing for each other, lol! I am so glad you have a CPAP machine on order. It does take some time to get used to using it, but now I sleep 1000x better with it than without it. It is going to CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
Well, I’m really glad you found out about the fibroids, but hoo boy, that is an emotional decision to make. It’s one thing to decide you don’t want children, it’s another entirely to have that decision made for you. Perhaps the birth control will help with the symptoms while you consider the ablation? I’m sorry you’re going through this.
So many appointments! But good for you for getting the mole taken care of – so important to keep an eye on things like that! I’m very proud of you!
Your reading retreat sounds very successful. I just got a notification that I have a book in at the library…and three more in transit. And I have four sitting here at home. Sooooo…perhaps I need a reading retreat!
I hope going the birth control route will help! I don’t think I want children, but I have a lot of feelings about having that decision completely taken away from me. I’m not ready to go there yet!
Thank you! It is exhausting to keep up with all these appointments, but I can see an end in sight!
Trying the pill seems like a low stakes way to see if it will help with your symptoms. I am getting an IUD next week as it may help with my irregular/heavy bleeding. A friend told me she’s had frequent bleeding for the first 6 months of having hers so I am hoping my experience is not as bad. I can bleed on and off for 10+ days which is super annoying so I am willing to try this. It’s the only option I have since I can’t take hormonal bc due to my clotting disorder. Dang being an adult can suck at times!
I really hope the IUD works well for you! That sucks you can’t take hormonal BC, though. I didn’t realize it takes so long after IUD insertion to start seeing the benefits. I hope you don’t have to wait as long as my gyn told me!
Thursday Murder Club! I enjoy those books and am looking forward to the TV series later this summer. Smiling about your coloring callus. When you color you really take it seriously. Clue is 30 y.o.? Oh that movie was [still is?] the best.
I can’t wait for the TV show! Now that I am more enamored with these characters, I am so excited to see it played on the small screen.
Oooh, your reading retreat sounds nice. I want one! I need everyone to leave my house for a weekend! OR, I need to go away. I have lots of books to read.
Nice job getting all your tests done. I’m wondering what the next step is if you test negative for celiac. And, luckily fibroids was one problem I never had- and I’m realizing how lucky I am when I read the comments here. It does seem like trying out the pill would be worth it.
What is this about a book crawl? I want all the details!!!
Listen, whenever you want to meet halfway at an Airbnb for a reading retreat, I AM SO HERE FOR IT. You just tell me when!
If nothing shows up during my colonoscopy or from my stool sample (still haven’t heard anything about that!), then I think the next step will be a gluten and dairy elimination diet. Or maybe it’s just anxiety because our democracy is crumbling. WHO KNOWS.
A book crawl! The idea is to visit little cafes around town and get a drink/snack and then read for 30-60 minutes. We have three places in mind!
So much adulting and taking care of yourself going on. I am proud of you Stephany! Not that you would not do this, but that it’s A LOT and I see you!!!!! <3
I appreciate that. Thank you!