So it has been a little rough getting back into the swing of things after being gone for two weeks. First, jet lag is no joke. Last night is the first night that I finally slept all night and didn't wake up randomly at weird times. It also takes a while to get the house back to normal - laundry, getting the fridge restocked, going through mail, paying bills, etc. etc. And then there's work.....ahhh work.
I have the less than ideal situation where I am the only person in my department. It was not always this way, but that is another long story. As the only person in my department, there is no one there to cover for me as no one else does what I do. So, in order to keep the wheels from coming off the bus, I was answering emails and working as much as I could at the hotel at night while we were gone. Unfortunately there is only so much that you can do remotely and somehow new #$% decides to go wrong once you've got something else under control.
This also holds true for the female body apparently. Guys you may want to stop reading now.
I was working late as I am still digging our from under a big pile of doo doo at work. I was actually glad of this as at least there was no one else around when IT happened. I am sitting there and all of a sudden I feel something rush out of me. I try to calmly, but quickly make it to the rest room to figure out what the heck is going on. There I discover blood, lots of blood, lots of bright red blood.
Needless to say, it was a bit unsettling. While unsettling, I didn't think it seemed life threatening. I remember something about you not needing to go to the doctor unless you are bleeding through a pad an hour, so I figure that I'd best go home and monitor for a while before I decide to freak out and go to the doctor. I also decide that these underwear are probably beyond saving and hope that my jeans make it through this ordeal. Oh yeah, right through the jeans too.
Now I realize that some women have to deal with this sort of thing month after month. I have fortunately been spared this until now. I have enjoyed very light, very regular periods since they started. My periods only last 3-4 days, I don't need more than slender regular tampons, and I have pretty mild cramping and just a little headaches. The week before I get bloaty - but not like 10 pounds or anything. So 1) getting my period an entire week early and 2) having a bloody disaster are not the norm.
I know that some of you are thinking that I won the lottery of periods. Yes and No. Yes from a general life standpoint in that it is really nice to know when your period is coming and that it really isn't that bad. While the regular period is also great from a fertility standpoint, the light periods ARE NOT. The light periods are because I tend to have a very thin lining each month. Thin linings are bad from a fertility stand point. VERY BAD. Inadequate uterine lining results in lower pregnancy rates and miscarriages. It could have contributed to my earlier losses.
While I was waiting to see if I was meeting the criteria for a doctor visit I did a little research to see if I could figure out what was going on. It seems that the IVF hormones really do a number on your body. I read several accounts of crazy heavy periods at strange times post IVF. Most clinics recommend taking off at least one cycle in between IVF attemps - mostly because it takes a while for your body to get back on track after the hormones.
Turns out that despite the heavy flow I am not in the danger zone. I'll just need to make sure I don't wear anything nice the next few days.....
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