Test Results Are In

I've had lots of tests in the last month and have neglected to update you on their results.

I mentioned that I was going to see my regular doctor to be tested for hypothyroidism because I have so many of the symptoms.  Well, I have no thyroid issues.  So that's good.  I mean, in one way it would help explain my fatigue, but I suppose I'd rather not have a thyroid issue that has to be treated for the rest of my life.  She also tested me for the Epstein Barr virus that I had when I was younger (due to getting Mono when I was 2) and caused my Chronic Fatigue, and the test showed that the EBV is no longer active in my system.  I'm not sure what this means exactly, because I'm still tired, but I no longer have an active EBV in my body.  Yay?

So why am I still tired?  Good question.  No answer really.  My doctor told me that that might just be my life; that it might be my normal.  Well, I told her that was unacceptable - it's not okay for me to be this tired all the time.  She said the normal stuff - some people need 9 hours of sleep a night (me included) and I try, but it's hard to get that much sleep when I have to wake up at 5:30am.  She also said I need to exercise.  Well, as I've said here before and I said to her, how can I exercise when I'm totally exhausted?  It's a never-ending cycle.  But whatever.  Hopefully the other things I'm doing will help with the fatigue.

My hormone results are back and they are still low.  Dr. G wants me to use a systemic testosterone cream for 3 weeks every day and then 3 times per week until I don't know.  Even though my estrogen is still low, he says I'm out of the menopause low and he wants me to stop the Estradiol for now.  I think he's hoping that my own body will pick up the pace after getting a jump start.  He also prescribed the Diazapam suppositories to help relax my pelvic floor muscles.  I will be getting those today so I'll let you know how they go.  I guess I'll do them anally like he recommended because my vagina is so sensitive - but I'm not looking forward to it!  He can't explain the burning that has returned, but he's hoping that the suppositories will help and I've been trying to do more yoga which seems to help too.  I really think that stretching is key - it does make a difference.

My psychiatrist has lowered my Clonazapam to .5mg in the morning and .5mg at night and added 10mg of Prozac in the morning.  We'll see.  This will supposedly help with the fatigue, but it takes longer to get into the system.  I've been taking the Prozac for about 1.5 weeks and I'm still tired, but he said it could take a month.  It also has some scary side effects, but so far all I've noticed is dry mouth.  If it gives me more energy, I'll take dry mouth.

So the Prozac and testosterone are both supposed to help me in the energy department.  I sure hope so.  I'm so tired.  I want to exercise, but I have no energy.  I'm hoping for the best with these drugs.  We'll see how it goes.

Well, the ball is rolling, but probably not fast

I went to the doctor yesterday to get tested for hypothyroidism, among other fatigue-causing illnesses.  She doesn't seem to think that I have it, and I probably don't, but we did blood work, which I will get back next week.  If it's not that, then we'll just start a guessing game I suppose.  I just want to be normal, and you all may not know this because this blog is about my vagina, but I've been tired my whole life - more tired than other people.  I go to bed by 9pm at the latest every night and I'm still exhausted.  I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome when I was a teenager, but knowing that really doesn't help me be less tired.  All they say is "get more sleep".  Okay, well if I go to bed any earlier, I won't be able to fall asleep, plus I won't get anything done!  It's frustrating.  Hopefully we'll figure out something eventually.  More sleep is not going to help - I already get as much sleep as I can and I'm still tired.

I'm going to see Goldstein tomorrow so I'll post an update soon about that.

It's been over a month - so I guess there's lot to say

I think I'll break it down into categories; I'm organized and anal like that:

Work:
Well the biggest reason that I haven't written anything in a while is because I started back at work on August 30.  And I've been completely exhausted and had way too much to do since then.  When I come home, I just sit in a post-crazy-kids coma I suppose - nothing else left to give blog wise.  I actually have pretty good students this year,  but some of my classes are so BIG!  It's hard not to have drama when all the students are smashed up next to each other, plus we're talking middle school here so there's ALWAYS drama. I only have one class that really makes me stressed - they are 6th graders and the entire 90 minutes they just want to get into yelling matches and say things about each others' mamas and stuff like that.  My psychiatrist told me to take one of those "in the moment" pills before that class.   I did it once and it did seem to help a bit.  I've been trying new stuff this year at work with my students - as a teacher I try to add new things to make myself a better teacher every year.  But this new stuff is eating up my time.  I literally have no time to eat lunch.  During my planning period I scarf down an energy bar while doing other work.  But I like my new changes so I guess I'll keep on scarfing those energy bars - any suggestions for one-handed eating would be great :).

Anxiety:
My  psych. has  raised my Clonazepam dosage to 1 mg in the morning and 1.5 at night.  It's so hard to say whether it's working or not.  Going back to work increases my stress level significantly, so it's hard to gauge the effectiveness of the drug.  I guess we'll just keep experimenting.

Fatigue:
I am tired.  All the time.  Sometimes I'm so tired that I just lay on the couch and don't even want to get up to pee.  A side-effect of Clonazepam is fatigue, but I didn't feel that way until I started back at work.  Honestly, it's probably a combination of the two, but I am just so tired - and that's affecting my progress with the vagina situation.  It's hard to have sexy time with my husband when I'm exhausted and have absolutely no desire to even put any effort toward kissing and "quiet hands".   My husband thinks that I may have hypothyroidism, and after reading the symptoms on Web MD, I might have to agree.  I have ALL of them minus the yellow skin.  So I've made an appointment with my regular doctor to get checked for that.  I can't tell you how excited I am for the possibility of adding  another thing to my list of problems my body has inflicted on me!  Not to mention all the added doctor's appointments and drugs  I'll have to take - that's awesome too!  I have a student who wants me to tutor him after school - well good luck finding one day where I don't have a doctor's appointment that I have to rush off to.

How I FEEL:
My therapist is always trying to get those 'feelings' words out of me.  How do you FEEL?  It's a really hard question sometimes.  I have a hard time expressing how I feel in words - mostly I express it through tears, but then no one else really knows what the problem is.  Well I feel a lot of things.  I  guess what I feel most of the time is  complete exhaustion, but maybe we can't really count that as a real feeling.  I do feel hopeful that we're going in the right direction. We've gotten to the point where my husband is actually touching my vagina between the lips (we call it the "quiet finger" - next up: the "whispering finger" - it's going to move around!).  These may seem insignificant, but each step is emotional for me.

Sometimes I feel hopeless,  but those are just my sad days, and I don't have them too often.  I had one yesterday though, so it's ripe in my mind.  I had sent out some photos of me and some of my friends at the State Fair.  One picture was of my friend's 9 month old baby.  One of my other friends (a college friend who is probably my best friend in the world - and I call her a college friend, but actually I've known her since birth - but she and I are part of a group of 5 college friends who are still really close even though we all live in different states) made a comment on that photo and said "I think you're next!".  I have told those 4 friends about my situation, and I thought I explained it well enough, but I guess they don't get it.  I'm not next.  I can't have babies if I can't have sex.  Comments like that just hurt me because they remind me of what I can't have.  It's hard enough getting questions like "when are you going to have kids" at work from people who have no idea that I have any problems 'down there', but from my best friends?  I was visiting my friends a few weekends ago, and two of the other ones were making similar  comments to me (one of the 5 has a baby - she got married first, then I got married - so I guess that means I'm next for babies).  I guess they just don't get it.  Do I have to explain it again?  It hurts too much.  I was telling my husband about this last night at dinner in a restaurant and I started crying.  I usually avoid topics that make me cry if I'm in a restaurant, but I guess I didn't realize how much it really hurt me.  The truth is, I do want a baby - I'm almost 28 and I'm starting to get those feelings that women get - those yearnings for a child.  But it's impossible right now.  And it makes me so sad.

My husband's brother just graduated from college.  He mentioned that he might apply to the Peace Corps.  If you've read my blog from the beginning, you know that I applied to the Peace Corps and had to withdraw my application because of my vagina.  If my brother-in-law goes through with it I will truly be happy for him and wish him a wonderful experience, but it also just makes my heart hurt.  It's another reminder of a dream that I cannot fulfill.

Sometimes I feel like life is passing me by - I can't fulfill my most coveted dreams because of my vagina.