Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts

October 20, 2012

IVF #1, Day 19-22: The waiting game continues...

Tears, tears, and more tears...

I thought I would be emotional from the menopur, follistim, ganirelix, etc; instead, I'm emotional while on progesterone.  Is that normal?  I'm flustered often and feel "blue" most days.  So many thoughts run through my head and I work at staying occupied, to avoid more emotions and thoughts.

We are currently down to one car (and it's the one that is in worse condition) —Bummer!  Also, we are looking to re-home our adorable German Shepherd puppy, that we got for KJ.  —I feel so very sorry for KJ.  It's not her fault, nor the puppy's, that my health and capabilities are not where they need to be in order to raise a puppy, her size (approximately 35-40lbs, maybe more?).  I can't risk throwing my back out again.  I can't risk being layed out from severe endo flare-ups.  And most importantly, I can't risk, messing up this round of IVF over a pup —no matter how adorable and fun she can be...  The fact of the matter is that she is more than what I can do right now and I don't know what kind of limitations my future may hold.

On top of all the other stuff, I have not been working, so things are getting tighter and tighter right now.  I have to say, thankfully, we are in a very good place in our relationship, because last year, all these things, piled on top of one another, we would have been at each others throats, with intense silent treatments, daily —probably.  So, praise God for growth and unconditional love! 

We got through the first part of "the wait".  Now, we just have to make it 'til Saturday...  I really think this week will be tougher than the last.

I haven't been sleeping well at all —tossing and turning all night long, with sweaty-hot and shivering-cold flashes.  Also, I've been having very intense, uncomfortable, dreams (where I or my family are in danger).

Today is day 22.  We are still on 1cc of progesterone, nightly.  Tonight was the first night I needed to switch to my left butt cheek.  Tonight's injection was our 11th progesterone injection (10 were all on my right side, all bunched up in about the size of a quarter).  Last night, I think Chris passed through a blood vessel or something, because it's super duper sore AND has a puffy green bump (reminds me of when I used to pop blood vessels, on my wrist(s), when I used to play volleyball —but on my butt. lol)  It HURTS!!! :(

side effects that I've notice:
super sleepy (like needing several hours of a nap during the day to make it through 'til bedtime)
I get crazy "munchies"
Super thristy
sore "boobos"
very irritable
more random endo episodes
...so basically, it's like a very long stretch of PMS  (poor Chris and KJ!)

Sorry I haven't been blogging everyday, these past few days.  It just feels a little depressing that my only updates, really, are "very emotional again today"... lol  I hope it ends soon.


August 17, 2012

Pep Boys will NEVER get my business again!

What a day!  Chris took my car to Pepboys because I had my a/c worked on back on June 5 and by June 8 it needed to be worked on again.  Well, time sure has passed but we finally made it back to Pep Boys today.  They weren't able to find the problem... I was told that they had checked everything out with my a/c and could not find the problem. 

As I drove away from Pep Boys, I remembered that I needed to return a motor mount from Auto Zone, that we had purchased in February...

**When I went to Pepboys on June 5th, for the a/c, I also asked them to look into the rattling my car was doing.  (A friend of ours had already fixed two, out of three, motor mounts on the car in February.)  Well, Pepboys told me that the mount that hadn't been repaired yet needed to be repaired.  So, I added that to the a/c repair.  I paid over $500 for the repairs that day.  When I went to drive my car, I noticed it was still rattling.  I went back in and they told me I would have to go back the next day because the mechanics had already left for the night.  I went back a day or two later and was told to go back later that afternoon because I needed to talk to the mechanic that had worked on my car, and he wasn't there yet.  I went back later that day (and was then told that someone should have helped me when I went the first time, that morning.  I should NOT have had to go back!).  Then I was told that a different motor mount, one that our friend had replaced, needed to be replaced again.  They told me it was a bad mount and was causing the rattling.  I couldn't leave my car that night so I told them I would take my car back in, again, the next day, June 8th.  I managed to keep my cool and stay positive that the rattling would finally stop.  The mount was replaced and I paid right under $150. (the rattling did NOT go away and they told me that there was nothing more they could do.  "sometimes cars just rattle..."  Uh, the car is only an '03!)  I asked for the old mount back so that I could return it back to Auto Zone, since it had only been on the car for a few months (and the car wasn't even being driven for most of that time)**

...So, as soon as I picked my car back up, I went straight to Auto Zone.  Auto Zone, looked at the part that I was telling them needed to be returned because Pep Boys said it was faulty and needed to be replaced.  The guy looked at me and told me that Pep Boys was wrong and that there was nothing wrong with the part.  He looked carefully at all the parts that would be cracked IF it was actually a bad part.  He showed me where the cracks would be and what do you know... the part was NOT bad in any way.

Without thinking, I asked if they would be able to return the part anyway because I had already paid for the repair at Pep Boys.  Then they kindly knocked some sense into me!  They told me that I should go back to Pep Boys and get my money back because I did NOT need to pay all that money for a repair that was not needed.  Duh!  Why didn't I think of that?!  I immediately called Pep Boys and, of course, got the run around.  The guy had the stupidity to tell me "well, if there's nothing wrong with the mount then Auto Zone should return it."  I responded with "If there's nothing wrong with the mount then it NEVER should have been replaced and I should NOT have had to pay $143!".  He asked me if I could go back to Pep Boys and speak to them in person because it was all "too confusing" to figure it out over the phone —and I'd need to speak with the service manager.

I called for backup... I called my parents.  I know, I know, I'm almost 30 years old and I'm a big girl now.  But they recently had similar issues with Pep Boys charging them for parts that were never replaced and they got there money back without a hassle (on two different work orders!! BAD Pep Boys!!  All that happened AFTER I had already taken my car for repairs —or else I never would have trusted Pep Boys with my car.).  So, they met me there just for "support" and reinforcements, if needed. ha!

When I walked in, the guy told me that nothing would be able to be done today because the service manager already left for the day.  I flipped out because over the phone, he told me the service manager was out to lunch and would be back in 30 minutes, and I should go in person after 30 mins.  He then tells me that when we were on the phone he didn't know that he had already left for the day —he really thought he had just left for lunch.  (He could have had the decency to at least call me back when he found out.  No, instead, he let me go all the way back for him to tell me to go in tomorrow?  I think not!!  I told him that something HAD to be done today because I was so tired of having to go another day to take care of things they have done.  He then looks at the part and says that it is faulty and I should take it back to Auto Zone and get a refund.  He also told me that they wouldn't know if it is a bad part because they don't "repair cars".  Uh, really?!  They wouldn't know if a part is good or bad even though that's what they look at alllll day long??!  Seriously?!  I then told the guy that Auto Zone will not take it back because there is nothing wrong with mount —it didn't need be be replaced like I was told by a Pep Boys mechanic.  He said, "I'll be right back." and was gone for about 10 mins...

He returned with all my $143 and change in hand!  (I was thinking "Oh!  I thought you said you couldn't make a refund like that on your own??...")  Then he tries to tell me that he needs my part, the one that they told me was bad; the one I had already paid for out of pocket.  Or that they would need to take the one that they put on my car off.  I told him that I didn't want them working on my car anymore and that the part that was in my hand was originally mine!  He tried telling me that he needs to show a faulty part for the return.  I told him that it wasn't my fault!  "If your mechanic hadn't told me that I needed this repair we wouldn't be in this situation.  This is my part.  I paid for it and the one on my car is there because your mechanic wanted to charge me for something that didn't need to be done!"  Then he tries to tell me that I should give him the part back because he is actually giving me more than what it's worth anyway... Is he really that stupid?!?  ( I really don't like calling people stupid!!  BUT seriously!!!)  He really thinks he was doing me a favor?!  I told him "You're not giving me any extra money!  You are giving me exactly what I paid out of pocket for something that didn't need to be done!  You're not giving me anything to cover my travel expenses or my time.  So, I should get every single penny back, not just what I paid Auto Zone for this part!"  He responded with "okay, I'm not going to argue with you over this."  he put the part back in the box, handed it to me, made me sign the receipt for the refund, and I was out the door.

GEEEEEZ!!!!!  What drama!!  I wish I really could get reimbursed for all the gas and time I've spent dealing with the problems they have caused.  Unfortunately, the a/c repair, I'm stuck with —even though my a/c still doesn't work properly.  They say that what they repaired is not the current problem.  So, I'm taking my car elsewhere and if I found out that Pep Boys did not fix what they say they did or that the parts they used were not new, I will be back for another refund!

On a good note:  I now have some cash to put towards the a/c repair! :)

January 16, 2010

Lupron. First dose 1/14/10

I've decided to do my best to blog about this new journey. So much is changing in my life again. It was just three months ago when my world shifted. Well, here I am again... life and health.

Wednesday changed my life --haha, makes me think of LOST, how when the wheel is turned, life as one knows it no longer exists (for the most part). I'm not "lost" . . . just wandering around for a while figuring it all out.

Wednesday, I found out that my endometriosis has continued to grow. Birth control stopped working as well as it was. I have a golf ball size cyst on my left ovary and my right ovary is out of place. My uterus has been hurting beyond belief this past week . . . so we are left to believe (since endo is not seen through a sonogram --but when you put it all together: extreme pain again, ovary moved out of place, large cyst, etc...) that the endo has only gotten worse. My right ovary seems to be attached to either the uterus or the abdominal wall again. The doctor doesn't want to perform another surgery (would be my fourth since Jan 2007). He says we need to try another form of treatment. I've tried surgeries. I've tried pain management. I've tried birth control to suppress my ovaries. Now I've started Lupron.

Lupron will shut my ovaries down -and bring on a menopause-like state. With that happening, the endometriosis should stop growing. There's hope! And I'm thrilled! My doctor says that there is even a chance that the Lupron will help minimize all that has already grown too. I feel like it's 'wishful thinking' but at the same time, I'm still praying for a miracle that it will just all go away. No more disease. No more pain...

So, my dad gave me my first injection on Thursday(one of five. one every six weeks). I was a nervous reck. Not only because I totally dislike and freak out with needles but also because I had to prep my own shot AND because I knew that he has been out of the medical field for what I say is "ages"!! lol He did a fantastic job. I didn't feel any pain! Praise God. He always used to tell us stories of all sorts of things that he had to do for his patients. One that I will always remember is how he said that he never hurt a patient with an injection. :) He would prep the area and then smack 'em on the injection site literally right before sticking them with the needle. The smack would cause the initial shock and tensing of the muscle so when the needle would go in, the muscle was already relaxing... So, true! I felt him clean the injection site and then I waited for it ... SMACK...and then warmth. :)

I cried as I said, "you're doing a great job dad. Thank you so much." I couldn't believe that I was talking and fine while he was still injection the medicine. He thought I was crying because it hurt. But I was crying for many reasons. I cried because I was soooo relieved that it didn't hurt. I cried because I finally just got it over with (I took forever to finally get up the nerve to get the shot). I cried out of happiness of finally getting my first dose of the treatment --it took two whole days of calling my doctor and insurance back and forth, being on hold for what literally totaled up to HOURS, and waiting for returned phone calls just to get the medicine approved from my insurance to be picked up locally! I also cried out of sadness that I reached this point with fighting endometriosis. I always say "it is what it is." and try to refocus on other areas of life. But I'm only human and deep down I try to keep this thought away --I told Chris... "it's just tough when you realize how different your life turned out. You never ever expect to experience something like this. You always wonder what others must feel with a disease . . . but you never think it will be you "when you grow up".

So on top of that, I found out some heartbreaking news... This is life. This is real. This is MY life...I am actually laughing inside thinking about all this and how it's just so interesting how everything can change with just a blink of an eye -literally.

Enough about that.

My first night after my first Lupron injection:
shakes, shivers, hot flashes (which I never knew that it wasn't just about being HOT but also being icy cold from one second to the next), nausea, restlessness.

The shakes were so bad, I couldn't even talk because my jaw was chattering so much! It was NUTS! The strangest experience I've had in a while. It has calmed down a whole bunch but my body still just wants to tense up and every muscle feels the need to be tightened. It's an ugly feeling.

I've lost my appetite along with some of my hair already :(. Not major hair loss but the kind that I had when I was taking LoEstrin24! (enough back then that made me stop taking that birth control.) I had no idea it would kick in this quickly --but I guess it's already been in my system for 24+ hrs now. Tonight is when I noticed the hair loss ... I could really use some of that on my arms, legs, arm pits, and face (the hair loss that is!) lol.

Tonight, I don't feel such extreme hot/cold flashes and the shivers/shakes, like I mentioned earlier, are much more manageable. Unfortunately, though, I'm not sleepy! So, it gave me time to blog :) .

I want to do my best to blog about this treatment because reading other womens' blogs (documenting their journey with endometriosis) has really helped me out in different ways. For me, it will be a 6 month treatment (hopefully I can keep up with the cost! The first shot, with my insurance, cost me $133.75! The price before applying insurance was over 700 dollars!!! Praise God for insurance.). I also want to keep up with documenting as much as I can so that I can have this to look back on and focus on the end results. See how it gets better. The first two weeks are said to be the worst and I know I will need encouragement to focus on the positive and not complain through it all! haha. ;)

On a different note: my ford focus had to go back to the shop a week after it came out and we should be getting it tomorrow!! woohoo! it's been real tough sharing one car to get three people to three different places (Chris to medical center, KJ to school (located in Wilde Horse), and myself to Boerne). Also, keep KJ in your prayers please. We took her to the doctor today and it turns out she has strep and croup. She has a steroid to take in case her breathing gets worse, an antibiotic for the strep, and albuterol treatments to ease the breathing. It's definitely been an interesting week for the Mayfields.

God is Good and I have faith that it will all turn out okay...

Good night.


**I just realized that I should have taken a picture of the needle! That thing was nothing like I expected --it was about 3 inches long -if not longer!!! I was expecting a tiny one inch needle. NOPE! My butt cheek is still sore!! LOL.

October 7, 2009

just peeking out from my 'cave'

Yes, I've been hiding in a cave --figuratively speaking, of course. haha. No, I don't really go hide in caves -I promise.

Since August, I have been blessed with the best promotion, so far, in my lifetime! :) My very first salary position w/ benefits.

My piece of dirt ford focus just got out of the shop yesterday --we actually put a load of money into fixing it. :D I'm excited to know that it won't leave me stranded on the side of the road . . . for a good while, at least.

KJ is concerning me with school. She excels in so many areas so that's GREAT! however, she is not bringing home "greens" every day (the color chart of behavior: Blue=super, Green=good, Yellow=something(s) happened, Red=out of control behavior). She has never brought home a blue :( and she has never brought home a red :D. However, yellow, in our family is unacceptable --when it's about one every week. Some weeks she has brought home two!! :( So, I got to thinking that, from my experience w/ working w/ kids, she COULD be bored and not challenged enough in her class. She breezes right through her homework. Her teacher told us her expectations for her are higher because she is one of the smartest kids in her class.

KJ would rather sit and cut little pieces of paper into "little books", she calls them, instead of enjoying the class centers. She would rather cut paper instead of making a "fall crown" to wear on her head like her classmates. She was the ONLY one that didn't care to finish. :( I was talking w/ my sis last night and expressed that KJ has been doing 'projects' since she was two --so I think that she is waaaaaaay past the 'fall crown' type of project. When I took out the pieces from her back pack, I thought to myself, "No wonder she didn't care to do this!" :(

So, in some areas, she is furthering her education and loving it. In most of the other areas, she is chosing to opt out of participating or playing around instead of focusing on the task at hand. She says how much she LOVES school still --which is great. I'm just at the point of getting concerned now...

We are excited about Fall and Halloween. My gerber daisies have LOVED the rain. When I got out of my car this morning, heading back in from dropping KJ off at school, I was soooooooo happy to see red, hot pink, orange, and yellow daisies all beautifully open!! It's been so rare that allll those colors bloom together. I'm excited. It makes me want to pick 'em and put 'em in our vase at work. But then I won't be able to see them everytime I go in and out of my house. hmmm.... to pick or not to pick (the daisies -haha).

A lot has happened in Life for me in the last month -in my private life and my open-book life. God has really been my strength, love, encouragement, friend, etc. I've had so many ups and downs in just the past 26 days. If I ever commit to writing an autobiography, you would be SO amazed w/ how "interesting" my life has turned out!! haha. I feel like i'm on a non-stop ride on a pendulum: swinging from one extreme to the next. The time in between each extreme could be as short as minutes and only as long as hours . . . not the usual pendulum ride that life gives --of having days, months and years in between the differences.

Gotta love it. How else would my life be interesting for my future auto or novel -haha ;) It has def. kept me clinging to God and desperately looking in every crevasse of my life for a positive breathe of fresh air.

Oh, and I have to go see a doc soon cause my right 'big toe' is numb!! haha. it's been getting worse and worse --I've been feeling less and less. It's spreading!!! Ah! and I have no idea why. :( it's a bit scary. i also have a numb spot in the center of m back, right by my spine, that has the itchy sensation but I can't feel my scratching --cause it's numb!!! So, it's this little itch that is NEVER soothed. My skin is pretty much raw prob cause it really feels like a numb face right after dental work ---so does my toe. Strange. I know. Freaky. Yes, that too. Funny? SURE! why not?! lol I'm going numb one little piece at a time . . .

I have to get ready for work now. slowly but surely i'll inch my way there. I'm so sleepy today and w/ the drama kids' parents have caused in the past two days, I'm not REALLY looking forward to settling it all just yet . . . not today at least. can't I just go back to sleep?

nope. gotta go now.
:)

'til the next post . . .