A little miracle

Jason and I began trying to get pregnant at the end of 2008. We did not anticipate it being so difficult. While many friends were announcing their exciting news, we were struggling trying to make news of our own. In January of this year (2010) a doctor on base was finally willing to help us get to the bottom of our problems.

January and February
In January we began seeing specialists and running tests, trying to get to the source of the problem. Jason’s tests all came back normal, even though we all know he’s not very normal ;). My initial tests, on the other hand, were not normal. My blood work came back with slightly elevated levels of prolactin (hormone produced by the pituitary gland to stimulate the production of milk), and an ultrasound showed I had cysts on my ovaries. We thought we were in for a simple fix, possibly some medication to regulate the hormone production which would also take care of the cysts.

March
To get things rolling I had to have an MRI of my head to find out what was causing the elevated prolactin. They found the culprit: a small, benign tumor on my pituitary gland. Unfortunately that’s not all that they found. Initially, the doctor told me that I had a malformation of my brain, but she didn’t know what it was so she wanted me to see a neurosurgeon. I don’t know about all of you, but seeing a doctor who performs brain surgery was not on my top ten must do list. I was also told I needed to see an endocrinologist concerning the hormone imbalance. I only had to wait ten days to see the neurosurgeon, who explained that the malformation is called a Chiari Malformation (a problem present at birth that affects the area in the back of the head where the brain and the spinal cord connect). Basically my medulla oblongata can be squeezed by the malformation, causing an increase in pressure, so they say I am sixty percent more likely to have a stroke than the average person. The neurosurgeon said they would not operate unless I showed severe symptoms, such as unbearable headaches. I will continue to see this doctor to evaluate the situation.

June
One specialist down, one to go. Well, let me tell you, I have never had to wait so long for a doctor’s appointment! The endocrinologist could not see me for ten weeks. Holy Cow!! We finally got to see the endocrinologist on June 8th. It was not a very productive appointment, just more blood work. We got the blood work back a week later and everything was normal, even the prolactin levels. At this point we were under the assumption that we would not be able to get pregnant on our own.

But little did we know, we were already pregnant.

After 18 long months of trying to conceive........

July
This was taken on July 1. What a great surprise!