Odds & Ends...

It's been awhile! First off, thank you for your prayers as I've been exploring, struggling, and looking for answers regarding my pituitary tumor. Tim and I were fortunate enough to be able to see a Naturopathic Physician two weeks ago who gave us excellent clarification, and direction! The bottom line is that I absolutely have no other choice than to take my Bromocriptine prescription. I stopped taking it for a week due to some icky side effects, but have since resumed, and all praise to God, I am doing fine. The Dr. suggested that this type of tumor is capable of going into other parts of the brain and even effecting some of my vital organs, if left untreated. She also said that we will more than likely struggle with infertility, even with being on the medicine. She talked some about diet, and though, Tim and I eat healthy, we are now more than ever committed to our organic meats, dairy, and produce. The added Estrogen and other hormones aren't what I need at all, and will only be harmful in the long run. The only "natural" thing she really was able to suggest was incorporating fish into my diet 3x a week, as well as seaweed 1x a week, along with a calcium supplement. She added that I, unfortunately, just have a bad case of luck, and that there was nothing I did to bring this on. She even suggested I may have been born with this, it's just been manifesting itself over the past couple of years. So, the Bromocriptine is going well. I started it back up gradually, and am now at my full dose. I will be seeing an Endocrinologist one of these days to talk more about infertility (of course, we aren't looking to have children for quite awhile) for the future, and more specifically my current conditon. Thank you for your prayers, these past few weeks. Tim and I are so thankful we were able to get a second opinion, and relieved we did so quickly! I have another blood test done in March, to check my levels again, and adjust the dose. Besides this, we've had tons of other things happening too...we celebrated our 4 year proposal anniversary this past Saturday by dining at our fav restaurant, Boccelli's in downtown Gresham...along with our 5 year dating anniversary the day before! :) We finished painting our dining room, kitchen, and have gotten a great start on the bathroom remodel. We also switched our bedroom around, and moved it across the hall. It feels like a luxury to have a larger bedroom now...we are loving the change. Tim is enjoying his evening job at Sunnyside Counseling Center, and I am enjoying my night class at Mt. Hood Community College. Despite it being a math class, it's going well so far. We even got snowed in this past week, though I will let Tim share pictures in his blog. Hope all is well whereever this may find you...

-H