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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Surviving The Hormone Rollercoaster Ride

4 shots of Lupron into my regimen and feeling great!  A little sore, but nothing compared to what's coming so I can't complain. I am becoming a little snappy, but again, nothing compared to the rollercoaster I will be on shortly! With that ahead of me, I thought I would take some time to remind myself and others of you out there going through the same thing of some ways we can survive the ups and downs of our hormone rollercoaster ride. As my poor husband is already starting to see some of the craziness that comes out of this process, I must remind myself to apologize before and after any outburst that is unwarranted and even for the ones that are! Already I can feel my emotional shifts happen more quickly than usual. The poor telemarketer that called yesterday felt the full brunt of one them! Well, it was his fault for calling back twice in two minutes after my husband had already explained once we don't have the money to donate to his charity right now. Who seriously calls back twice after being hung up on? That guy didn't know my rage that could come out so quickly in the 10 seconds he was on the phone with me. Needless to say, he didn't call back anymore after our conversation! With all of that in mind, here's a sort of top ten list of ways to calm and/or get through those hormone surges!

10. CHOCOLATE. I don't know about you, but eating any sort of chocolate always works for me! If I find myself feeling stressed, I always reach for my stash of Dove chocolates in the pantry to calm myself even for just a split second.

9. BREATHE...take several deep breaths and remind yourself that it isn't necessarily you that is this upset, it could be the hormones talking. Even so much as removing yourself from the situation or taking a walk can greatly reduce the stress or anger you are feeling at that point in time.

8. BREATHE again...can't hurt! Don't they say count to 10?? Why not try 20 before speaking so you don't regret words that might come out of your mouth without warning! I have to take my own advice on this one. I have gotten into a lot of trouble in the past:) Oops!

7. APOLOGIZE. Always. Not everyone understands the emotional rollercoaster you are on and some people take your words to heart.

6. COMEDY. Whenever you are in a horrible mood or just finished ripping someone's head off for a good reason, I'm sure, make yourself laugh by watching and/or listening to something funny. It will lighten the mood and relieve the anger that's swirling inside of you!

5. Did I mention chocolate? Oh yeah, how about some ice cream to go with that? Whatever comfort food you want or crave during this time...GO FOR IT! Except for alcohol because it can worsen your symptoms and let's face it, should we really be drinking while working our way up to getting pregnant? Remember the quality of the eggs is extremely important!

4. KLEENEX. Carry them with you at all times, crying happens instantly and without warning! Last night it almost happened 3 times in the span of an hour. It only gets worse from here for me! Yikes! I fear going to any movie or being in public, but I can't help it so I won't apologize for crying whenever it may happen. I will just wipe my uncontrollable tears and explain that apparently my brain feels it's necessary to cry at that very moment, whatever the situation may be.

3. LAUGH IT OFF. Seriously, it works. I do find it funny...sometimes much later after the fact, how angry, sad, upset, mad, pissed off, teary-eyed or extremely elated I got over something so little.

2. PRAY. Whatever emotion you are feeling at whatever moment in the day, pray that it will pass if it's sadness or anger, or stick around if it's happiness and joy. At any given moment, women going through these shots, never know when their emotions will take over their mind and body, but we can be mindful of who's really in control and just pray that he's there with us through it all.

1. EYES ON THE PRIZE. It does suck to have your emotions going off the radar in so many different directions every second of every day, but remember why you are doing this. You are here to give yourself the ultimate gift of a baby and a family. That gift is worth riding this ridiculous rollercoaster any day. That's why I continue to go through it. This is my sixth attempt with fertility treatments and I am even willing to go at it a seventh time if this time doesn't work.

I hope this list helps, even just a little bit. I know I will refer back to it at times during the next several weeks! Tomorrow is my last day of birth control and after that, the Lupron takes over. Oh boy, hormone shifts, here we go! I won't know what's coming when I begin the Follistim while still remaining on the Lupron. I will just try to enjoy the ride and remember the goal. If you see me with steam coming out of my ears or tears streaming down my face, just know I am going throught this checklist in my head, trying to find the one that will help me survive that particular outburst!

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